Land of Kirby
by nld200xy
Summary: In a land where many Kirbies exist, an evil threatens the village of Norwal. It's up to a young Sword Kirby and Hammer Kirby to save the villagers from this horrible outcome. Can they possibly do it? Read and find out.
1. Chapter 1

Land of Kirby

Disclaimer: I do not own the Kirby series, and some of these characters come from the games and TV show.

We begin our story on a planet known as Dark Star. It was very much like the title would lead one to believe. The skies were covered with dark clouds so sunlight was never allowed to touch the planet's soil. The only places you could ever find light were the insides of buildings. It was a dank and dreary place, but its residents considered it home.

A young round creature was running through a forest being chased by a horrid beast. The beast was a wolf-like creature with red fur and claws much sharper than that of an average wolf. The round creature, however, was a small orange being wearing a cleaning bandana atop her head. This was known as a Kirby.

Kirbies were just some of the many creatures that inhabited Dark Star. All of them looked alike, but each had a specific feature that separated it from the rest. This one in particular was known as a Cleaning Kirby, a Kirby born with outstanding cleaning abilities. Give one of these Kirbies a broom and you could guarantee any mess would be cleaned up in seconds.

The cleaner was starting to lose the wolf. Soon, she would be safe. Unfortunately, that thought came to an end when she tripped over a root and fell flat on her face.

"OW!" she shouted, rubbing her face, then she noticed a large shadow looming over her as she turned to see the wolf raising its arm, sending it towards her.

The woman screamed in fright when out of the blue came a mysterious object, rushing straight past the wolf's paw and putting a small cut in it. The wolf howled in pain as it backed away a bit, clutching onto the bleeding spot, eyes darting back and forth.

The cleaner looked at a nearby tree where the strange projectile was headed towards and noticed that it was a dagger. But who would be carrying a dagger?

Her question was answered when a violet Kirby with a shogun helmet and a blue ponytail leapt from another tree, striking the wolf across the chest with a large blade, the wolf howling even louder. The round being turned to the Cleaning Kirby and said in a deep womanly voice, "Go back to the village! I'll take care of the demon!"

The cleaner dare not question this. She was just happy to be saved as she ran far from the area. The wolf managed to finally ignore the immense pain going through his system as the violet female narrowed her eyes and said, "You've been a naughty boy. Now be a good Wolfwrath and leave before I have to kill you."

The wolf, a creature known as a Wolfwrath, let out a loud roar as it opened its mouth, shooting a flame towards female. Much to the creature's surprise, the woman vanished seconds before the fireball could hit, appearing right behind it, planting a dagger in the back of its neck.

The Wolfwrath howled in pain once more as its eyes rolled to the back of its head, the canine now out cold. The woman simply turned to it, shaking her head and said, "If you wanted to live, you should have just stayed away from that nice lady."

This particular type of Kirby was known as a Ninja Kirby. As the name implied, these Kirbies dominated most others when it came to stealth.

We now bring you to a small village known as Norwal. Here, many other Kirbies lived. They lived their lives like most regular citizens did. In the village, life was peaceful. The monsters never entered nor did they ever want to.

Living within this town was a young orange Kirby named Flint. With a red headband tied to his head, his goal was to be a great fighter.

Flint was in a small pasture just a few miles from Norwal with his best friend, a yellow Kirby that wore a green cap named Spencer. The two had known each other for 8 years and no matter what happened, their friendship was strong.

"Why did you drag me out here?" Spencer asked with his eyelids lowered, "This had better be important."

"Oh, it is," Flint said with a grin as he pointed towards a tree saying, "You're going to be the first to witness my new move!"

Spencer stared at the boy and blinked before letting out a sigh, groaning, "You dragged me all the way out here for THAT!? Come on, this is the 20th time, and each time nothing happens."

"Hey, this is the only the 19th time," Flint remarked with a glare, "And trust me, this time, I know I've made a breakthrough."

Spencer sighed, shrugged and sat down on the grass as Flint grinned towards the tree, raising his foot and holding it back, determination in his eyes. Then he threw his leg forward shouting, "ROUNDHOUSE!" and spun his body around, but much to his dismay, nothing happened as his body continued to spin like a top until his eyes started to swirl and he passed out from exhaustion.

Spencer laughed while walking towards his friend and placed a small stubby arm against his head saying, "I must admit, that is some breakthrough. It'll work wonders against an opponent dumb enough to come near you while you're using it."

As the boy continued to laugh, Flint glared and remarked, "That was so funny I forgot to laugh."

Suddenly, Spencer's laughter came to a halt. His eyes went wide when he noticed something odd. He saw skulls spread out across the pasture. Where had they come from? He hadn't seen them before.

"Flint, do you see that?" he asked as he pointed toward the open plain, Flint turning his head in the direction and scratching his head saying, "What am I supposed to be looking at here?"

"DON'T YOU SEE IT!?" Spencer cried as Flint's eyes went wide, "THERE ARE SKULLS ALL ACROSS THE PLAIN!"

The aspiring young fighter turned back toward the distance and once again saw nothing. It was a simple field. There weren't any skulls, bones or bodies anywhere, just miles and miles of grass.

"Spencer, are you okay?" Flint asked in a worried tone as the yellow Kirby turned his head back to the plain and this time noticed nothing. Where had they gone? They were there a second ago.

"Flint," Spencer said, "I think I need to see a doctor. I'm imagining things."

Flint nodded his head in agreement as the two headed back toward the village. Perhaps their good friend Melanie would know what was up.

"Why are we at Melanie's house?" Spencer asked as Flint approached the doorstep saying, "Melanie's much better than any doctor living in this village."

The orange Kirby knocked on the door and waited only to receive no answer. After waiting for about 20 seconds, he decided to give the door another knock. Melanie had to be home. It wasn't very often that she would leave her house.

After another 30 seconds, Flint sighed and approached the door to give it one last knock as the door opened up, slamming itself hard into his face as he toppled down the doorsteps.

A young green Kirby wearing a white braided headband opened the door. This was Spencer and Flint's good friend, Melanie.

The girl looked down seeing Flint lying against the ground, his eyes swirling and asked, "What's wrong with him?"

"You just slammed the door in his face," Spencer replied as Melanie laughed and replied, "Don't be ridiculous!"

And soon enough, Flint recovered from his injury and the two entered Melanie's humble abode, explaining Spencer's problem. Upon hearing this, Melanie rubbed her chin and said, "Well, you may be crazy... and you may not be crazy. I'll need to go to the pasture first before confirming anything."

"What's the point?" Flint remarked, rolling his eyes, "Look, there are no skulls out there. Only Spencer saw them and it was only temporary."

Melanie simply got up out of her seat and headed for the door, refusing to answer Flint's question. Flint's eye twitched as Spencer patted him on the back before the three Kirbies headed out the door.

Soon enough, they were back at the pasture just outside of the city. Flint simply plopped himself down on the grass and said, "As you can plainly see, there are no skulls out there."

Spencer's eyes went wide as he started to tremble. He could see the skulls again. Maybe his mind was playing tricks on him.

"I can see them again," he stated as Melanie, a serious look on her face, turned to Spencer and said, "You're not crazy. I can see them too."

Flint looked up and blinked, rubbing his eyes and looking out at the wide open plain once more. Much like before, he saw nothing. What were these two going on about?

"Look, you two are obviously insane," he said as he stood up, sighing, "It's bad enough that Spencer's crazy, but you of all Kirbies, Melanie... it's just unnatural. You must be spending too much time indoors."

Melanie shook her head and said, "You clearly haven't heard the stories about this pasture, have you?"

Both Flint and Spencer were confused now. Melanie was right. Neither had heard any stories about the pasture. All they knew was that it was a fun spot to play in when they were little.

"There used to be a village here more than 10 years ago," the girl stated, the boys looking at her with interest while she continued, "The village was destroyed by an army of Fire Lions and the only survivor was a fortune teller. However, she died from a deadly ailment seconds later, and months after that, her body decayed into the soil. Spencer, what you and I just saw was a prediction of something yet to come."

Spencer's eyes went wide as he started to tremble with fear. However, Flint didn't buy this for a minute. It all sounded farfetched to him.

"What does this mean?" Spencer asked as Flint groaned before stating, "It means you're both crazy! Spencer, you're crazy for seeing hallucinations, and Melanie, you're crazy for seeing hallucinations AND believing an old wife's tale!"

Melanie walked over to Flint and glared into his eyes saying, "I know what I saw and that tale is true. My mom and dad were still young when that happened and they told me so."

Flint simply smacked his forehead and turned his back to them. He couldn't believe this. His two best friends in the whole world had gone insane.

"She may be telling the truth, though," Spencer said as Flint waved his arm at them saying, "That's nothing but a bunch of nonsense! I'll bet your parents only told you that story to scare you! I'm going home!"

As the orange Kirby walked off, Spencer had a concerned look on his face as he turned to Melanie asking, "Do all those skulls belong to the citizens of Norwal?"

Melanie nodded and replied, "If the prediction is correct, then I believe so."

"What are we going to do, then?" Spencer asked as Melanie sighed, "I'm afraid we're going to have to convince everyone to move."

Both knew that this was a very difficult task. Asking the entire village to move... that idea alone was crazy. Who would agree to it? They couldn't convince their best friend to go with them. How could they get any support in this?

Nevertheless, they had to. They had to warn everyone of this horrible fate before it happened, and they would take it up with the king if they had to.

As such, Spencer and Melanie called everyone in Norwal together in the town square. They needed to get the word out. They wouldn't let everyone they knew and loved die.

"Attention, citizens!" Melanie shouted as everyone gathered together, Flint within the crowd slapping his forehead thinking, 'What are you doing? Do you want everyone to laugh at you?'

"A dire time is upon us," the girl said as the villagers all looked at one-another with worry as Spencer stepped forward and stated, "We have seen the future, images of skulls all across the open plain! If we don't move from this village, we'll all be killed!"

There was silence amongst the villagers after these words were said. Some couldn't believe this while others were unsure, and some did believe it but were afraid to admit it.

Flint pushed through the crowd and walked up onto the stage, pushing the two to the side saying, "People, don't let these mere words get to you!"

"What are you doing?" Melanie whispered as Flint glared at her and replied, "I'm simply giving the village a reality check."

Spencer and Melanie dare not do a thing about this. They were in front of the entire village. If they were to try and silence him, it would most likely cause an uproar.

"This story is absolutely ridiculous!" Flint exclaimed as some villagers nodded, "According to Melanie, that pasture outside of the city is a place where the future is shown to us just because a fortune teller died of an illness there! Now I have to ask, does that make any sense to you?"

The Kirbies all looked at one-another, discussing this amongst themselves. Many of them had heard the story of the pasture before, but with the way Flint said what he had, it sounded silly now. Nevertheless, they all needed to see this for themselves.

The entire village gathered around the pasture and stood there scratching their heads. Melanie couldn't believe this.

"Come on, at least one of you must be able to see it!" she exclaimed as all of them shook their heads. Flint shrugged, looking at them and said, "See? You two are crazy. Now let's head back home. I haven't had lunch yet."

And so the three turned around an headed back to the village after everyone had left. Had they stayed a moment longer, they would have noticed a dark presence far away from the village. Sure, it was at least ten hours away, but it was noticeable.

But what was this dark presence? What kind of being was it? Truth be told, it wasn't a being at all. It was an entire army of dark creatures, and not the flaming lions that had torn apart the village from the story. There were large suits of armor wielding flails and wearing capes. There were also Wolfwraths among them. Another type of creature was a large Hercules beetle. Of course there were Fire Lions, but the most destructive of all the demons among them was one of a kind, a dreadful ape-like creature with dark purple fur, razor sharp teeth and sword-like claws. This being was known as Kirisakin, a beast only told of in legends.

What a sad day this was. The Kirbies were completely unaware of this. They had all resumed their normal everyday lives, ignorant to the threat's existence.

Spencer and Flint were playing Go Fish at Melanie's house as Spencer chuckled, "You know, Flint, I have to admit, that was pretty stupid of me to believe such a thing. Maybe Melanie and I just need to spend more time out of the house."

"Well, it's good to know you can at least admit it," Flint said with a grin as he asked, "Do you have any queens?"

Spencer grumbled, handing him a card as Melanie looked out the window and said, "I know I was right. That pasture wouldn't lie."

"You're still going on about that!?" Flint retorted as Spencer got up, placed a hand on Melanie's shoulder and said, "Get over it, Melanie. We were just seeing things. It happens to everyone. Just be glad that no one's mad at us for wasting their time."

But Melanie refused to believe this. She knew what she had seen and there was no way she could be wrong. She immediately grabbed a hold of Spencer's arm and dragged him out of the house as Flint just stared at the sight, eyes narrowed as he groaned. Why were these two his best friends again?

Melanie dragged Spencer out into the pasture, but this time, both saw something different. Not only did they see skulls in the plain, but they noticed a dark image advancing towards the village.

"Oh no," Melanie said as Spencer simply turned to her and asked, "Is that the army that's gonna destroy us?"

"I'd assume so," the green female replied, "But no one else is going to see it. I'm afraid we're going to have to tell the king about this."

"The king!?" Spencer remarked with eyes wide open, "Melanie, the king lives thirty miles from here! How can we possibly make it there in time!?"

"Well, this prediction is of something yet to come," the girl replied with a grin, "I'm sure we have plenty of time to tell him before it's too late."

Spencer looked down and pondered this carefully. If they were to see the king, they would have to cross through the forest, and it was a very big forest. Many dangerous creatures lived there. There would come a time when they'd have to defend themselves. But nevertheless, it was all worth it for the village and the Kirbies who inhabited it.

And so, the two headed toward the town's exit. Spencer had brought along his family's golden sword and the sheath that went with it while Melanie brought along a hammer, which was currently strapped to her back. They had no time to lose. Even a simple goodbye could have spelled Norwal's fate.

"Where do you think you're going!?" came Flint's voice from behind them as Spencer and Melanie turned to see their friend standing there, arms folded.

"Don't even think about going to the king!" Flint exclaimed as Melanie started to fume, Spencer patting her on the back letting down a sweat drop.

"You could be executed for telling him false stories, you know that?" Flint explained, "Look, you both just saw an illusion. All those skulls weren't real! Just stay here where it's safe! This isn't worth it!"

Melanie simply glared at him and said, "If you're not helping us, then you can stay behind, but we're going."

Flint's jaw dropped as he looked at Spencer. Spencer reached his arm out towards Flint, but lowered it seconds later, turning his back to his friend. He hated to do this to Flint, but the lives of the villagers were far more important than friendship right now.

Flint watched the two head into the forest and snapped, "YOU KNOW WHAT!? FINE! LEAVE FOR ALL I CARE! IF YOU GET KILLED, DON'T EXPECT ME TO CRY AT YOUR FUNERAL!"

Of course, all three of them knew that Flint didn't mean that, but Spencer and Melanie understood. Their story made little to no sense, after all, and it wasn't like Flint was the only one who doubted them. But the two were doing this for the sake of Norwal and the Kirbies residing in it. At this point, friendship would just have to wait.

But little did they know that the dark image they saw miles away from the village was not a prediction. They didn't realize just how little time they had. This made things very complicated.


	2. Chapter 2

Land of Kirby

Note: Bun is actually the name of the character Tuff in the original Japanese Kirby anime.

This was quite a day for the village of Norwal. An army of monsters was headed toward that very area and the citizens were none the wiser. It was all up to Spencer and Melanie now. Even their best friend, Flint, didn't believe that there was a threat. Spencer and Melanie had to cross through the large forest all by themselves in order to reach the kingdom and tell his highness of this threat. It would be dangerous and they were certainly scared, even if they did have weapons to defend themselves with. But they were committed to ensuring the safety of everyone in the village of Norwal.

Spencer looked back and forth at all the rustling bushes and said, "I don't like the look of this," as Melanie sighed and smiled at him saying, "I'm sure everything will be fine. The chances of something attacking us out here are slim."

For the most part, this seemed pretty much true. The only creatures that ever emerged from the rustling bushes were common everyday woodland creatures. There was nothing dangerous about them. They were all omnivores, so Kirby was luckily off their menu.

For the next hour, all seemed calm and peaceful. The two had traveled a good distance, but weren't even close to the kingdom they sought. This was a long and tiresome trip, and it was unfortunately too much for Spencer.

The yellow Kirby plopped down on the ground and sighed, "Can we please rest here, Melanie? I don't think my feet can take anymore walking."

The green female looked off into the distance and looked down. She set herself down saying, "I'm exhausted too, but we can't rest for too long. We need to get as far as we possibly can before nightfall."

Spencer nodded in understanding. He knew Melanie was right. However, he was starting to doubt this whole thing. They were only in their teens, and they weren't very experienced in combat either. What if something did attack them? And what if the king didn't believe them?

Suddenly, Spencer's eyes went wide as they darted towards another rustling bush. He started to tremble as Melanie noticed his expression and laughed, saying, "Cheer up. It's probably just another family of boars."

But Spencer didn't think so. He had a horrible feeling about this. And it wasn't long until his fears were met when what should appear but a large elephant head with two legs and a set of round eyes. Though this creature looked adorable, it was not to be taken lightly. This was a highly feared demon known as Phan-Phan.

Melanie quickly whipped out her hammer and said, "It's a good thing we're prepared for this," but Spencer didn't share the girl's enthusiasm. He wasn't even sure whether to reach for his sword or not.

"Spencer, come on!" the girl snapped as a spiked ball emerged from the elephant's trunk, but Spencer was too frightened to do anything.

The girl sighed and decided that if he wasn't going to help, she may as well defeat Phan-Phan on her own. However, she was too late to direct her focus back to her target as the spiked ball socked her hard in the face.

Spencer's eyes went wide as Melanie's eyes started to swirl, the elephant wrapping its trunk around her and lifting her up. The girl regained focus just in time for Phan-Phan to raise its trunk, sending it towards the ground and slamming the green female hard into it.

All Spencer could do was watch, trembling and feeling completely helpless. He was frightened, but there was much more to it. See, the truth was that Spencer didn't know how to use his family's sword. Sure, it had been passed down through generations and Spencer, being a Sword Kirby, was meant to wield it. However, he just didn't have any of his family's skills, and had he spent more of his free time training, he could have been ready for this.

The boy felt so stupid while he watched his good friend suffer. Had he spent more time on his skills as a swordsman and less on fooling around with Flint his whole life, he'd have been ready for this. Oh, but how was he to know he would need to use it one day?

But now was not the time to punish himself. When he heard Melanie scream, "HELP ME!!!!" after having her head slammed a seventh time, Spencer knew that he had to help. The yellow Kirby unsheathed his golden sword, fury in his eyes as he charged towards Phan-Phan, who simply threw its trunk to the side, sending it back and ramming it hard into the boy's side, Spencer flying into a tree.

Melanie's groaned as she'd played a small part in that before screaming, "WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM!!!!?? WHY WOULD YOU USE ME AS A WEAPON AGAINST MY FRIEND!!!!??"

Phan-Phan's eyes went wide as it let down a small teardrop, Melanie putting on a grimace and exclaimed, "That's right! You'd better feel sorry!"

Spencer managed to recover from the blow and noticed that Phan-Phan was starting to regret its actions. But the boy knew this wouldn't last. The thing about a Phan-Phan was that it never regretted anything for too long due to its stubborn nature. Being elephants, all Phan-Phans thought highly of themselves.

Knowing this, Spencer had to take action before it was too late, so he took this opportunity to charged back towards his foe. Before Phan-Phan could dry its tears, Spencer threw his blade downward striking the elephant in the trunk. A small drop of blood dripped down as Phan-Phan cried in pain, dropped Melanie as she hit the ground with a thud.

While the elephant cried in pain, Spencer too shocked by the fact that he'd actually helped to move, Melanie slowly rose to her feet, lifting up her hammer and saying with a grin, "Thank you, Spencer."

With that, she leapt high into the air, spinning vertically before planting the hammer hard into the elephant's cranium. Phan-Phan's eyes started to spin as it saw stars, doing all it could to maintain its footing. Spencer finally snapped out of his shocked state as he ran towards Melanie, who was now standing a few centimeters away from the demon.

"Are you alright?" the boy asked as Melanie nodded saying, "All thanks to you."

Unfortunately, this was all too good to last, and that was proven when Phan-Phan snapped out of its confusion, a spiked ball popping out of its trunk. Spencer and Melanie took a defensive stance, prepared this time for anything thrown at them when suddenly, Phan-Phan's eyes went wide as it cried out in pain, hurling the spiked ball carelessly above its head, the ball landing hard atop its skull, the elephant head passing out.

"What just happened?" Spencer asked as Melanie squinted her eyes and spotting something in its back, which was now pointed upward.

"Someone threw a dagger into its back," Melanie explained as Spencer's eyes darted back and forth, the boy shouting, "Show yourself! We'd like to thank you properly!"

"You two kids really shouldn't be wandering around this forest," came a woman's voice as the two flinched before looking around once more, Melanie asking, "Who are you and where are you hiding?"

"BOO!" came a voice from behind them as the two panicked, turning around and falling on their rear ends, the source of the voice laughing insanely, Spencer scowling at a violet Ninja Kirby who was hanging upside down from a spider's thread and said, "I didn't find that particularly funny."

The ninja's laughter died down as she pulled out a dagger, cutting herself from the thread and, despite her short distance from the ground, managed to flip herself over and land perfectly on her feet.

Melanie looked at this mysterious girl suspiciously. Ninja Kirbies were often crafty. How could one be so sure that this one could be trusted?

"Oh, don't give me that look," the ninja said with a smirk, "I saved your life, didn't I?"

"Yes, but we didn't ask for it," Melanie retorted, but Spencer seemed to think differently as he bowed to the ninja girl saying, "Thank you for saving us. If you hadn't come along, that Phan-Phan might have killed us."

Melanie stared at the boy with disbelief. How could he just submit to this random ninja just like that? Nevertheless, the ninja patted the young boy on the head saying, "It's good to see at least one of you knows how to properly thank someone. You're a lot like the Cleaning Kirby I saved earlier today, who stopped fleeing back to Norwal to thank me for my services."

Melanie's cheeked puffed up as a vain appeared on her forehead, the girl marching towards the ninja shouting, "I don't know who you are, but you have some nerve comparing a Sword Kirby to a Cleaning Kirby!"

Spencer let down a sweat drop saying, "It's perfectly alright," as the ninja bowed to Melanie saying, "You have a very good point. I have not yet properly introduced myself. My name is Motoko."

Melanie blinked upon hearing this, her mouth wide open. Perhaps this Motoko girl wasn't as bad as she'd first seemed. She certainly had good manners, even if she didn't show it right off the bat. But then again, good manners and respect were part of the ninja code of honor.

Melanie took a deep breath and said, "I'm terribly sorry for my outburst. I overreacted," while Motoko chuckled and replied, "It's perfectly alright. To err is human, to forgive divine."

Melanie smiled, now completely trusting of the violet ninja girl. Spencer sighed and rolled his eyes at the sight of this. He would never fully understand how Melanie's mind worked.

"Why did you save us, anyway?" Melanie asked as Motoko smiled and said, "You were in trouble. I always make it my duty to help those in need, that is, when I'm not trying to fulfill my own hopes and dreams."

Melanie now had a look of curiosity on her face, but she remembered that ninjas were also secretive. To get such information out of her would not be as simple as asking.

"What are you two doing all the way out here, anyway?" the ninja asked as Spencer explained, "We're going to see the king. We need him and his men to stop and army of demons from destroying our village."

Upon hearing these very words, Motoko's eyes went wide as her heart started to pound. She turned her back to the duo and thought, 'No, this wasn't supposed to happen.'

"Is something wrong?" Melanie asked as Motoko snapped back to reality, turning back to the others and said, "This is far more important than my needs. And after seeing you two barely able to defend yourselves against something as weak as a Phan-Phan, I'd say you kids need my help more than ever."

"EXCUSE ME!?" Melanie retorted as Spencer covered the girl's mouth quickly saying, "Yes, we'd appreciate it greatly," Melanie prying Spencer's hand off of her mouth and glaring at him.

Motoko simply folded her arms, staring at the two. She stood there staring for well over a minute until Spencer finally realized what that meant, the boy quickly bowing and asking, "Would you please help us on our journey, Miss Motoko?"

"Please, just call me Motoko," the ninja girl replied with a smile as she tilted her head to the side saying, "And I don't see no reason to assist you. It would be my honor as a ninja."

And that was that. The duo had become a trio now, and as much as Melanie didn't want to admit it, she knew that they would need Motoko's help, especially since the ninja girl clearly knew the forest better than they did. But this all seemed too convenient at the same time. Was this meeting really just chance or was there a specific reason Motoko had met them? Well, whatever it was, they had a strong ally on their side now, and with Spencer barely able to defend himself and Melanie being average with the hammer, Motoko was truly the greatest asset they had.

And so the group traveled for another couple of hours. They didn't know how Motoko had lasted so long without hurting her feet. Then again, she was a ninja and ninjas were trained to be able to sustain all kinds of pain. What was a little gravel and dirt to a ninja?

After the two hours ended, Melanie knew it was nightfall. Well, for only half a day, it hadn't been too bad. They had managed to walk more than ten miles, meaning they were almost halfway to the kingdom. Soon the village would be saved, well, at least that's what they thought. Whether or not they had enough time was a whole other thing. It would be at least another four to five hours of walking before they could finally reach the king.

But at the moment, it was time to just forget about that and unwind. They needed to sleep for tomorrow was going to be another big day, possibly full of more danger than before.

Meanwhile, back in Norwal, Flint was lying in his bed when his mother entered the room. His mom was a brown Cutter Kirby, meaning she wore a duck cap with a slicer on top.

"Flint, I know you're worried about your friends," she said as Flint grimaced while saying, "They shouldn't have left. They're going to get killed out there, I just know it!"

The woman patted the boy on the head and said, "I'm certain they'll make it through the forest. My good friend Maria told me today that she was attacked in the forest by a Wolfwrath."

"She was?" Flint replied with a look of amazement in his eyes, "How did she survive?"

Flint's mother chuckled and stated, "Well, according to her, she was saved by a very helpful Ninja Kirby. I'm sure that if your friends find themselves in any danger, that ninja will help them."

Flint looked down and said, "I hope you're right," but even if that was true, he still didn't feel at all good about this. What if they did make it through the forest? The king would more than likely execute them after coming all the way to the village to discover nothing anyway. While he wanted the village to be safe, more than ever did he wish that Melanie's prediction was true. At least that way, his friends would keep their lives and he wouldn't have to find new ones.

But of course, the night was young and Flint was tired. The orange Kirby sighed and fell into a deep sleep. All he could do right now was hope for the best.

The following morning, Spencer's eyes slowly opened as the flesh between his eyes started to perk up. The flesh continued to twitch. This was a response to an odd smell in the air, but a pleasant one at that. As he got up, he noticed Motoko wide awake in front of a fire with something delicious hanging over it. However, this delicious thing almost made Spencer want to puke as it was a dead boar.

"Oh, you're awake," Motoko said turning to the boy with a smile, "You want some breakfast?"

Spencer cringed at the sight of this. Sure, he liked meat, but to see it being made was an awful sight. Nevertheless, he was hungry and needed something to get him through the day, so what choice did he have? It wasn't like any fruit grew in this forest, after all.

After Melanie awoke, the trio enjoyed a scrumptious Boar breakfast, though Spencer felt a tad uneasy eating it when it still looked like a boar. He was used to all meat being like the kinds sold at the market, all slightly similar in appearance, a big meat slab wrapped around a thick bone. However, this boar was prepared with its original look. There was no one who could process it and make it look more appetizing.

"Thank you, Motoko," Melanie said with a grin, "That was delicious."

Melanie quickly nudged Spencer afterwords as the boy looked down and said, "Uh... thank you very much for the food."

Motoko simply smiled and said, "Oh, it was nothing. I've always had to catch my own food, anyway."

Even most ninjas didn't have to deal with that kind of living. This Motoko was certainly interesting. But being a ninja, Melanie knew that the girl was hiding something, but she knew that something wouldn't be revealed so soon if at all.

After breakfast, it was onward to more traveling. As the group progressed, the trip started to feel even longer. Perhaps it was the fact that after an hour, Spencer and Melanie's feet hurt, or perhaps it was the fact that they weren't running. Whatever it was, Melanie had a gut feeling that they weren't going fast enough.

"Can we please take a break?" Spencer asked, breathing heavily and sitting down while Melanie glared and remarked, "We just took a break two minutes ago!"

"TWO MINUTES!?" Spencer remarked, "IT'S ONLY BEEN TWO MINUTES!?"

The boy fell over on his back and whimpered, "This journey's going to be the death of me."

"Don't worry," Motoko said with a smile as she sat down next to him, "Our last break wasn't very long. And besides, we only have ten more miles to go. We'll be there in less than three hours. How does that sound?"

Spencer breathed a sigh of relief while Melanie shrugged and sat down herself. She was afraid to admit it, but even she was tired. They had no means of transportation and the kingdom was very far away from the village. It was only to be expected that the journey would be an exhausting one.

While the three sat, the side of Motoko's head perked up as she said, "I hear something."

The others soon heard it too, a rustling in the trees. Spencer cried out in fear when a spear flew straight at him, landing between his legs.

"You bumbling blockhead!" came a voice from the same tree as another shouted, "You missed!" and following this was the sound of someone being bonked on the head.

Motoko's eyes narrowed as she muttered, "Yariko..." as Melanie's eyes went wide. She had heard of the Yariko, and none of the stories were good. The Yariko were savages said to reside in the most dangerous parts of the forest, but up until now, no one from Norwal ever believed it.

Motoko quickly pulled out a row of daggers throwing five into the trees, each hitting a Yariko as they fell from the trees. They were very short and had tan-colored skin along with red hair, each with a ponytail on top.

However, it was painfully clear that there were more than five as a net dropped from a tree right behind the trio, all three captured. Motoko let out a sigh, ashamed of herself for falling for such an obvious trap. Spencer trembled with fear, tears forming. He didn't want to be a savage's dinner. Melanie, however, was simply mad. How dare the Yariko do this when they were so close? Then again, it wasn't like the Yariko knew of the situation.

Soon enough, the trio was dragged to a campground where the Yariko started a bonfire, dancing around it while singing a tribal chant. One of them, a young girl, walked over to the net and started poking the prisoners, Melanie fuming. Now, some of you may be wondering why Motoko hadn't cut them out. See, the ropes were made from a foreign substance, a very hard one at that. Even a blade couldn't cut through it.

"Excuse me, little girl?" Motoko asked as the girl stopped poking Melanie and looked up at the ninja, Motoko adding, "Are we going to be eaten?"

Spencer gasped and passed out from the thought of being dinner. This was the worst day of his life. Melanie quickly whacked him with her mallet, waking the boy up shaking her head in disappointment while Spencer let down a sweat drop.

The girl shook her head and said, "Tribal chief will decide what to do with you! We won't eat you unless he tells us to!"

"Well, we're doomed," Spencer said as the little girl ran back to her tribe, Melanie grinning and saying, "I wouldn't say that just yet. For all we know, their chief may be a civilized man. We can't just jump to assumptions."

At that very moment, a group of Yariko marched out of a big tent in the middle of the campground and announced, "Now presenting his royal majesty, Chief Bun!!!!"

As soon as they said that, a surprisingly young boy marched out. Melanie groaned and slapped her forehead. There was no way a kid would understand civil conversation. The young boy had yellow hair with blue streaks that covered his eyes and had yellow skin. He also wore small blue pants and had dark-green egg-shaped feet.

The tribe chanted his name until he held up his arms, silencing them and walking towards the cage. He examined the prisoners and paced back and forth, his hands behind his back while the others just stared, not sure whether to be afraid or not.

"Why are you here!?" he spat as the group flinched. However, Motoko mustered up the courage to explain the whole situation, how the village was going to be attacked by demons and how the trio needed to ask the king for help.

Bun simply grinned and replied, "Why didn't you say so?" before turning to his men and shouting, "RELEASE THE PRISONERS!!!!"

The Yariko all cheered wildly as the net was untied, the trio now free. Melanie breathed a sigh of relief while Spencer simply passed out from the pressure put down on him from this experience, Melanie waking him up with her hammer again.

"Thank you ever so much," Motoko said bowing as Bun grinned wider saying, "It was no problem. I used to live in that town. I can introduce you to my sister if you'd like. She can help you get into the king's chambers if I tell her you're with me."

The trio couldn't help but smile in response to this. Things were finally starting to look up. Maybe, just maybe, the village could be saved.


	3. Chapter 3

Land of Kirby

Note: Fumu is the Japanese name of the character Tiff from the anime. Parm is the Japanese name for Sir Ebrum and Lady Like's Japanese name is Memu.

After a difficult trek through the forest, Spencer, Melanie and the newcomer, Motoko were very close to the kingdom. Soon, they would put a stop to the monster attack and everything would be settled once and for all. Motoko's reasons for joining the troop to help save a town she didn't live in was currently open for question. Maybe she really did hold others above herself. Maybe this was all a trick. All in all, jumping to assumptions now was not a good idea.

Spencer had to admit, he was both happy and worried about how easily they had gotten the Yariko tribe on their side. Bun seemed all too friendly. Then again, it was already weird enough that a child was the tribal chief, let alone the idea that Bun was related to someone living within the kingdom.

Regardless of whether or not this was too good to be true, the trio was glad to have the Yariko assisting them in their journey to meet the king, as Bun had ordered his tribe them to pull the group in the royal cart, and much to the trio's surprised, the Yariko were very fast even when pulling a fairly heavy object with four passengers.

"So," Melanie asked, "how do you know your sister can help us get into the castle?"

Bun simply rested his hands behind his head and stated, "Let's just say the royal guards have no choice but to obey her every command."

Those words created more questions than they answered, but the three shrugged and went along with that. And after a few more minutes, they had reached the kingdom, more than an hour ahead of plan. Had they walked, it would have taken two hours to get from the Yariko village to the kingdom, but with the Yariko tribe pulling them, they had made it in less than half that time.

Spencer looked out the side of the cart as his eyes sparkled, the boy forgetting all doubt as his heart was full of happiness. Even Melanie couldn't take her eyes off of this vast kingdom simply known as New Pupupuland. Everything here was beautiful and it seemed easy to ignore the darkness with all the lights that shone in this town. There were at least five fountains set up throughout town and many buildings that most towns wished they could afford. And on the far north end of the town lay a big castle. This was where the king and queen lived.

"This is truly a sight to behold," Motoko said with a smile, "It's so beautiful here."

"BAH!" Bun retorted with a yawn as he held his hand out the side of the cart, signaling his servants to set it down. The group was to head to the castle on foot, it seemed.

Spencer sighed, already missing the convenience as he asked, "Why can't we just ride to the castle?"

"I agree," Melanie replied with a cold look towards Bun, "I don't see why we should have to walk."

Motoko placed a hand on each one's head with a smile and said, "Don't complain. He got us here, didn't he?"

Bun nodded and grinned at Motoko saying, "I like you, ninja girl!"

Spencer and Melanie let out a sigh, lowering their heads and accepting their fate. It was as Motoko said. At least Bun had got them there.

As they walked through New Pupupuland, Melanie was amazed by all the different species of creatures living here. Sure, there were Kirbies, but there were also mushroom-like beings called Cappies, named after the mushroom caps they wore atop their heads. There were also small red and white creatures called Waddle Dees and round creatures with one eyeball each known as Waddle Doos.

"To think that all these races were unable to get along fifty years ago," Melanie said as Motoko let out a sigh stating, "Even now, there are some people who don't realize that working with others outside their kind is the key to maintaining peace and harmony."

Bun grimaced in response to this, letting out a low growl and muttering, "Tell that to my stupid father."

"What did you just say?" Motoko replied as Bun simply whistled while saying, "Nothing."

Motoko simply shrugged but knew the boy was lying. Being a Ninja Kirby, after all, Motoko had super sensitive hearing. It was essential for avoiding sneak attacks and detecting nearby enemies.

Spencer, however, was much more interested in another of the city's features. Scattered throughout the town were statues of a rather chubby penguin wielding a hammer and dressed like royalty.

"Who's that?" Spencer asked pointed to one of the statues as all three gasped, Spencer looking at all of them and letting down a sweat drop, feeling he'd just said something stupid.

"Why are you all staring at me like that?" he asked as Melanie grabbed him by the arms and snapped, "Do you seriously not know who the late King Dedede was!?"

Spencer scratched his head and laughed nervously saying, "Yes," while Bun slapped his forehead and retorted, "Come on! Even the Yariko know who he was!"

Spencer looked down with a look of shame. He felt so stupid right now. But his shame was soon gone when Motoko smiled at him and said, "Don't worry. Nobody knows everything."

"Thanks, I guess," Spencer replied, still feeling a tad bit down as he added, "So, who is this Dedede?"

Melanie simply wrapped an arm around Spencer's side, the yellow Sword Kirby feeling rather uncomfortable while the girl explained, "Dedede was a hero back when he was still alive! He was the king of the original Pupupuland!"

Bun nodded and looked up at the sky with a smile on his face and his eyes sparkling underneath his hair while he said, "It's said that he put his life at stake for the lives of everyone in the kingdom, single-handedly going up against the demon Nightmare."

Melanie noticed Spencer's look of shock and grinned stating, "Surely, you know the story of Nightmare and the Old Pupupuland, right?"

"Yes, my mom read me that story when I was little," Spencer replied, "The kingdom of Pupupuland used to exist on a different planet called Popstar more than thirty years ago. One day, an evil demon named Nightmare showed up and destroyed the entire planet, and only the residents of Pupupuland knew of the threat and fled Popstar before it was too late. They then moved to Dark Star and built New Pupupuland. I didn't know the king fought him, though."

"He certainly did," Motoko stated while looking at the statue with admiration, "Truth be told, the current king and queen of New Pupupuland were merely servants of his back when he was in power."

Spencer couldn't believe what he was hearing. This was truly fascinating. But one question still remained.

"Whatever happened to Nightmare?" the boy asked, "That part was never in the story."

At that very moment, hearts filled the eyes of Melanie as she said, "Seconds before the planet exploded, a brave knight named Metaknight drew his sword and used it to cripple Nightmare, preventing him from leaving, thus causing him to go down with the planet. I wish more than ever to one day meet that brave knight!"

Spencer may not have ever heard that part of the story, but he had heard tales of the legendary Metaknight. He was said to be a very powerful figure, a man to be feared by all.

Soon enough, the group was in front of the castle. Melanie's eyes darted back and forth as she asked, "So, where's your sister?"

Bun grinned and walked over to the door, lifting up the knocker and slamming it against the large structure. He then turned to the others, his grin getting wider while the doors started to open.

At that very moment, a young girl appeared before them. She wore a pink dress and had a long white braided ponytail that went halfway down her back. With a tiara on her head, this was the princess of Pupupuland.

Melanie and Spencer were silent as Motoko poked them both, glaring at each of them before bowing. The two realized what she meant and quickly did the same. However, Bun just stood there as if the presence of the princess didn't faze him.

"Bun?" the princess asked as Bun grinned saying, "Good to see you remember me, Fumu."

Melanie lifted her head up and asked, "Bun, how do you know the princess?" as Fumu glared angrily at the Yariko boy yelled, "HOW DARE YOU LEAVE THE VILLAGE WITHOUT TELLING US!!!!??"

Bun held onto the sides of his head gritting his teeth as he snapped, "Is that any way to greet your own brother after so long!?"

At that moment, Spencer's eyes went wide. Melanie's jaw dropped and Motoko simply stared in shock. The princess of New Pupupuland was... Bun's sister? But how could a Yariko be related to a Cappy? Unless...

"Bun, you're not really a Yariko, are you?" Melanie asked with a suspicious glare as Bun let down a sweat drop saying, "I should have told you that. I was born a Cappy and ran away to join the Yariko tribe. I didn't even know I'd become their chief."

Princess Fumu's eyes went wide as she asked, "Bun, you're the chief of the Yariko?"

Bun grinned with pride as the princess sighed and pounced on her brother, tackling him to the ground and slamming his head hard against the ground shouting, "MOM AND DAD WERE WORRIED SICK ABOUT YOU!!!!?? WHY WOULD YOU RUN AWAY TO JOIN A TRIBE OF SAVAGES!!!!!!?"

She stopped harming Bun for a second as the boy started seeing stars and weakly said, "It's not my fault being raised by royalty is boring."

Fum let out a sigh and got back to her feet, wiping the dirt off her dress and helping her brother up. Much to everyone's surprise, including Bun's, the girl held him in a tight embrace, letting down tears.

"It's just good to know that you're okay," she sniffed as the boy smiled nervously uttering, "Would you expect any less of me?"

Melanie started to snicker under her breath as Bun bit his lip, grumbling an onslaught of swear words too quiet for anyone to make out. Spencer, on the other hand was confused while Motoko simply smiled, shaking her head at him while she patted him.

Fumu suddenly realized there were others with Bun and quickly released the embrace, bowing before them and asking, "What is it that brings you here?"

"We wish to see the king," Motoko explained with a bow before adding, "your majesty."

Fumu looked at Bun who nodded and said, "Don't worry, they're cool. I brought them here."

The fact that Bun had brought the group of Kirbies with him was alarming in the princess' mind, but the boy was her brother and the trio seemed to mean well. As such, she invited them into the castle. After a five minute walk, Spencer and Melanie marveling at the inside of the building, the group had finally made it to the king's quarters.

"Wait out here," Fumu instructed as she reached for the doorknob, "I'll tell Dad you're here on urgent business."

Motoko nodded and said, "Thank you," as the princess opened the door and closed it just as quickly upon entering. While the trio stood there, Melanie noticed something odd: Bun was missing.

Elsewhere in the castle, said individual was sitting on an easy chair while maids and servants came to his every beck and call, serving him all forms of junk food imaginable while the boy sighed, "I'd forgotten the one good thing about living here: free service."

The trio simply shrugged, paying it no mind as Bun's presence wasn't necessarily required anyway. Fumu quickly opened the door and poked her head out saying, "Dad's agreed to speak with you."

Fumu slowly walked back to where her father was, taking a seat next to him. Her father was a fancy man with a bushy gray mustache and a George Washington hairstyle. He also wore a fancy purple suit with an orange bow tie along with brown pants. This was King Parm. His wife, the queen, sitting on the other side of him, was a lovely young flower with elegant blond curly hair. She wore green earrings and a violet gown. Her name was Memu.

The queen blinked while looking at the others to turned to her husband asking, "Excuse me, dear, but didn't our daughter say our son was with them?"

"Yes, I believe she did, hon," the king replied, pulling on his mustache.

Fumu simply blinked and said, "He was with them," while Parm sighed, "I was looking forward to seeing our little Bun again, too."

He then looked over the yellow Sword Kirby, the green Hammer Kirby and the violet Ninja Kirby and asked, "What is this urgent message you have come to give us?"

After being pampered for a while, Bun was later seen outside of the castle. He simply placed his hands in his pockets, looked back at the structure and thought, 'Sorry, mom and dad, but I just can't bring myself to move back in. My tribe needs me."

The boy bit his lip while tears flowed down past his hair and shouted, "I MISS YOU, MOM AND DAD!!!!!" before running back to his tribe. He just couldn't face his parents, not after what he had done. He had run away from home and joined a tribe of feared savages, even going so far as to become their leader. Worst of all, he hadn't told anyone about it. The boy could only imagine how badly his parents would punish him for such an act.

Meanwhile, Motoko had told Parm the whole story as the man looked up, stroking his mustache once more. He let out a sigh and said, "I do say, this is quite a predicament."

Spencer simply let down tears and pushed Motoko to the side shouting, "Please, sir! You have to help us! My family and friends are in Norwal! Please help us!"

Fumu would have reacted to this had her jaw not been dropped during the conversation. Having not heard the story herself, this was all very shocking, not to mention unbelievable. How could anyone believe that two teenagers saw a prediction in an empty field?

However, Parm got up from his seat and looked down at Spencer with a serious look in his eyes. Spencer covered his head, prepared for the worst as the man knelt down towards him.

'Oh no,' Melanie thought as she trembled, Motoko silent and expecting the worst.

Much to everyone's surprise, Parm lifted his finger and wiped away one of Spencer's tears saying, "Cheer up, lad. We'll send our best men over there first thing tomorrow."

Melanie's eyes sparkled as she asked, "Really?" Memu looking at her husband strangely and asking, "Honey, what makes you think they're telling the truth? That entire story sounded absolutely ridiculous!"

Parm turned his head towards his wife with a look of anger, which soon turned to goofy smile as he replied, "I can see it in the boy's eyes. There's no way they're lying to us about this."

Memu was about to protest when Fumu simply looked at her mother, shaking her head as the woman sighed, folded her arms and decided to accept it. This wouldn't be the first time the king had made a rash decision, after all.

Soon enough, the trio were shown to the castle's guest rooms. Spencer was given a medium sized room with a window that covered up a large portion of the wall and a beautiful soft bed. The boy simply jumped into onto the mattress, letting out a sigh of relief. This was the most comfortable thing he had ever been on.

Melanie was given a much bigger room with a cabinet full of perfumes of all kinds of other things. All of this would have amazed her had Melanie been the makeup type, but Melanie was a bit of a tomboy, so this didn't appeal to her in the slightest. She was just glad to have been given a warm bed.

Motoko, by request, had been put in a small room where there was nothing to distract her from her ninja training. As soon as the servants closed the door, Motoko opened up the window to let some air in, a smile across her face as she thought, 'I can't believe it. I'm actually inside of the king's castle.'

But spending the night in those rooms would have to wait. Dinner had been served mere minutes after the trio had been assigned guest rooms. Everyone in the kingdom gathered around a large table where fancy dinner trays had been assigned to each resident.

Before the servants could lift up the lids, Parm stood tall and asked, "May I have your attention, please?"

The various Waddle Dees and Doos along with the Cappies all shifted their attention towards the king as he pointed to Spencer, Melanie and Motoko saying, "These three are honored guests invited here by my daughter, Princess Fumu. Their village is in trouble and we wish to help them as best as we can, but while that goes on, they will stay here temporarily. Let us all give them our undying support!"

The subjects all cheered, clinging their glasses together for a toast. Afterwords, the lids were removed from the trays as gourmet meals were presented before the entire court. Spencer and Melanie all looked at what they thought was the fanciest meal they had ever seen. There was roast duck, snap peas and many different fruit juices along with a slice of strawberry cake for desert.

Motoko simply bowed her head saying, "You are too kind," Memu waving her fan at the ninja girl saying, "Don't make my husband blush," Parm's cheeks turning red, the man chuckling.

Fumu, however, was unsure of this whole thing. What if the Kirbies were lying? What if their town wasn't in danger and they were just trying to get free hospitality? They knew the punishment was death, right?

After dinner, the dining room was cleared as the servants took the dishes away to be cleaned. Motoko had gone back to her room while Spencer and Melanie were just getting up from their seats. However, as they took a step forward, they each felt a hand against their shoulders, holding them with a firm grip.

"Ouch!" Melanie yelped as she slapped the hand off of her noticing that it belonged to Fumu, the two teens turning to face her.

"Just what are you playing at?" the girl asked as Spencer blinked saying, "I don't follow."

"Don't give me that!" Fumu retorted with frustration in her eyes, "Bun may trust you, but I don't! Your story sounded far too ridiculous to be true!"

"But..." Melanie said as Fumu rose her hand, hushing the Hammer Kirby and added, "You may not realize it, but lying to my father is a serious offense. You'll die when he realizes you lied to him!"

"But we're not lying!" Spencer remarked as Melanie nodded saying, "Yeah, so we'll be okay."

"Don't kid yourselves!" the princess spat, "There's no way you could just see an image of skulls out in an empty field unless you were hallucinating! Look, you still have time! Leave this place before father has you executed!"

Melanie pushed Spencer to the side and grabbed Fumu's collar raising her voice and shouting, "Listen here..." when one of the butlers walked by the dining hall saying, "Masters Spencer and Melanie, a special guest is here to see you."

Fumu blinked in response to this. Why would a couple of guests who had just come to the castle have a visitor?

She wasn't the only one with trouble believing this, though. Spencer and Melanie were equally surprised. Who besides them knew that they were in the castle? Both doubted that Bun would return, so it couldn't have been him.

The two gasped when they noticed an orange Fighter Kirby being led to the dining hall by one of the other servants. He turned to them and gasped shouting, "I FINALLY FOUND YOU!!!!!" running over to them and pinning them both to the ground in a type of hug often referred to as a glomp.

Melanie laughed nervously, letting down a sweat drop as she said, "Flint, you're kinda crushing us."

The boy blinked and said, "Sorry," letting himself off of them as tears filled his eyes.

"Flint..." Spencer asked with a smirk, "are you crying?"

"I AM NOT!!!" the boy retorted, rubbing the tears from his eyes while Fumu's eyes were wide, the girl asking, "What is going on here?"

Flint turned his gaze to the source of the voice as his heart started to race. He was in the presence of Princess Fumu. He had no idea how to act around royalty and as such, he was now trembling.

"Calm down," Melanie said placing a hand against the boy's shoulder, "You don't have to act formal around the princess."

Flint breathed a quick sigh of relief as Melanie looked back at Fumu and said, "This is our best friend, Flint."

Fumu simply bowed and said, "It's nice to meet you," while Flint nervously bowed, Melanie sighing and shaking her head. Clearly, the boy wasn't ready to face royalty.

"Flint," Spencer said looking into the boy's eyes, "why are you here? I thought you were staying back home."

Flint simply looked up, his tears returning as he said, "You were right, Spencer."

Melanie's eyes went wide as the girl asked, "What happened?"

Fumu was also quite interested to hear this. Perhaps her suspicions about the three lying were false.

"It was terrible," Flint said while tears ran down his face, "The demons came and attacked the village. Every home was destroyed and everyone was killed, even our parents."

Melanie and Spencer's eyes went wide as the two looked towards the ground, tears now forming in their eyes. They had gone on a long journey to save everyone and to hear that they were too late was just too much for them to handle.

"I tried to stop them," Flint proceeded to explain, now covering his head and trembling, "They were far too strong! It was awful! The entire village was covered in dead bodies! I COULDN'T DO ANYTHING TO STOP THEM!!!!! I FEEL SO USELESS!!!!!!"

Melanie quickly slapped the boy on the side of the face as Flint rubbed his cheek sniffing while saying, "Sorry..."

"What are you apologizing for?" Spencer remarked, "It's not like this attack was your fault. You had every reason not to believe us. We didn't even suspect that we had enough time."

Flint let down one last tear and shook his head sighing, "I should have listened to you. Now it's too late to do anything..."

Fumu's head was facing the ground as she said, "I should be apologizing too. I didn't believe your story either. I thought you were lying."

Melanie placed a hand on the princess' shoulder. The hardest part now was to explain this to King Parm. How would he take the news?

And so they did. Fumu told of how the village and all but one resident had been slaughtered. Parm bowed to Melanie and Spencer saying, "I am very sorry for your loss. If I had sent my troops sooner..."

"It still would have been too late," Melanie replied before bowing and saying, "Sorry for interrupting."

Parm let out a sigh of helplessness as he placed a hand on each Kirby's shoulder saying, "You can spend the rest of your life here if you wish. I'll treat you like a part of the family."

Fumu looked at her father with disbelief, but she was relieved to hear it. Melanie and Spencer thanked him immensely for his generous offer. Sure, they had suffered many losses, but at least they had a place to live from now on. What awaited them from here was a mystery.

Closing note: This is far from the end of the fic. Don't jump to assumptions just yet. There's a lot more to come.


	4. Chapter 4

Land of Kirby

These last two days had been completely unexpected. The peaceful village of Norwal had been destroyed and the only survivor was Flint. Now he, Spencer and Melanie had no choice but to live in the kingdom of New Pupupuland. What could they possibly do from here? Well, it had gotten late, so all they could do for now was sleep.

Spencer lay on his bed and looked up at the ceiling, sighing. He rolled over on his side and let down a tear drop. Why did it have to turn out the way it did? Why hadn't their efforts been enough? One thing was certain: Life was unfair and Spencer just needed to deal with it.

While the others slept, Motoko was awake and walking around the castle. But what reason could she possibly have for being awake at this hour? Whatever the reason, she was up and that was that.

As she walked into the dining hall, the side of her head perked up as she turned her head upward. She saw nothing as her eyes narrowed. This felt suspicious, but the ninja decided to ignore this and went back to her stroll.

The woman entered another room when she felt something speed past her. She knew someone else was there and she was going to put a stop to this.

The woman started to run through the castle, making sure the tips of her toes touched the ground so not to make too much noise. Whoever else was awake was not going to ruin her plans.

She ran all the way to an area with a green door labeled 'Do Not Enter'. Her eyes went wide when she noticed someone else there. This figure wore a black ninja outfit and had a brown ponytail. The stranger also wore black wristbands.

The stranger pulled out a small shuriken star and started to pick the lock with it as Motoko hurled a dagger towards this obvious other ninja's back. The ninja's eyes glowed briefly as the stranger turned toward Motoko and pulled out a blade faster than the blink of an eye, blocking the incoming projectile.

"And who might you be?" the stranger asked with a masculine voice.

Motoko grimaced and retorted, "I should be asking you that," while the stranger narrowed his eyes saying, "I do not simply introduce myself to a has-been like you."

"What did you say?" Motoko remarked, a vein forming on her forehead while the man stated, "You heard me. I refuse to tell a beginner my name."

That struck a nerve within the young ninja woman. Motoko had never felt so insulted in all her life. She could often deal with smug talk from an opponent, but to be compared to a beginner was beyond insulting to her.

The woman pulled out her own blade as she asked, "Why don't you say that to my face?" while the male ninja sighed, "You're not going to leave me alone unless I beat you, are you?"

"Who says you're going to beat me?" Motoko remarked as she whipped out four daggers, hurling them towards the male ninja who simply leapt over them.

'Gotcha,' Motoko thought, leaping towards him with her sword ready, but seconds before she could strike him, the male pulled out a strange net made of a white silk and latched it to the ceiling, lifting himself up and out of harm's way.

Motoko's eyes went wide. How could the ninja woman have missed such an easy target? What was this strange silk he had used? Now was not to time to ask questions as the male ninja dropped from the ceiling, planting his feet hard into Motoko's back while the girl fell face-first into the floor.

"You really are an amateur," the male said while he stood atop Motoko, who was unable to push him off despite ninjas being known for their light weight.

"How did you do all that?" the ninja woman groaned as the male let out a sigh and explained, "That silk was spider thread and what I'm doing now is Omori Jutsu, the power to increase one's weight. I thought even the weakest of beginners knew about that."

The woman's eyes went wide, a tear running down her face. Motoko had always thought of herself as a ninja master, but she didn't know about either of those techniques. What more did this man know that she didn't? Could it be... was Motoko really no better than a simple beginner?

Suddenly, the lights in the room turned on as an army of Waddle Dees charged into the room with spears, aiming them towards the male ninja. The ninja's eyes narrowed as his body started to glow before vanishing, the spears missing him completely.

The Dees looked around to see where he had gone, but the male ninja had vanished for good. The important thing was that he was nowhere to be seen in the castle, so they shrugged and escorted Motoko back to her room after she'd gotten up, ignoring the pain in her back.

The ninja woman couldn't sleep tonight. It wasn't because that male ninja had ruined her plans, whatever they were. She just couldn't get over the fact that she wasn't the ninja master she originally thought she was. Up until now, there was no one who could defeat her, but she'd never actually fought another ninja before. Was she really just a beginner? Was she really an amateur?

Meanwhile, the other ninja stood outside the castle, his arms folded as he sighed. Motoko may have lost to him, but the noise their fight created had pointed him out thus ruining his plan. But what was he doing trying to break into a forbidden room? Just what was behind that door?

The next morning, everyone was sitting at the dining table for breakfast... all except Motoko. As a breakfast of eggs, sausage and toast were being served, Flint's eyes sparkled. This was the greatest meal he had ever seen in his life.

When everyone had been given food, it was time for breakfast to begin. Flint immediately shoveled down his food immediately requesting more, Melanie slapping her forehead.

"Say, where's Motoko?" the girl asked as Spencer sighed, poking at the sausage with his fork. Melanie looked at the boy with concern, patting him on the shoulder and said, "Look, I'm just as upset as you are, but what's done is done. There's nothing we can do about this."

"I know..." the boy replied with a sigh. He knew there was nothing they could do, but he just wished there was. He wished that there was some way to go back in time and prevent all of this from happening, save his family and everyone else from the hand of death.

Fumu and Parm looked at Spencer with concern as they turned to each other, nodding their heads. Memu saw the look in their eyes and folded her arms with a look of annoyance. She knew what the two of them were planning and she didn't like it one bit.

Parm immediately stood tall and proud as he tapped his glass with his fork saying, "Everyone, if I can have your attention, I believe now is a good time for some breakfast entertainment!"

Memu rolled her eyes before slapping her forehead groaning, "This is so embarrassing."

At that moment, a Waddle Dee juggling plastic balls walked onto the table as Melanie yawned, "Seen it all before."

However, her attitude changed immediately when the balls exploded, dangerous weapons popping out of them. While the Dee juggled the swords, chain maces and many other sharp and deadly objects, he started to sweat nervously. One false move and he could very easily cut himself.

"Wow, that's pretty impressive," Melanie said as Flint finished his breakfast, patting his tummy shouting, "You go, little red guy!"

However, Spencer wasn't at all impressed or amused by this. He simply let out a sigh saying, "It's okay, I guess."

Parm saw the boy's expression and looked at Fumy with a look of concern. The princess sighed as the Waddle Dee left the table and another wearing a top hat took his place. This one pulled out a bouquet of flowers and sniffed them only for the flowers to squirt water in his face, the servants laughing at the display.

Despite this, Spencer let out a sigh and got up from his seat saying, "I'm not hungry," and was just about the leave the dining hall when Motoko walked into the room rubbing her eyes and said, "Sorry I'm late."

When she saw all the Dees and Doos in the dining hall, her eyes went wide. She looked back and forth asking, "Didn't you say you were sending your army first thing in the morning?"

Parm sighed and turned to his daughter who lowered her head. Motoko didn't know what had happened. She'd resided to her room before the news had been given.

Spencer looked up at the ninja woman with tears forming in his eyes as he said, "We were too late, Motoko. The whole village has been destroyed."

'No...' Motoko thought as her eyes went even wider. How could this have happened? She'd wanted so badly for those Kirbies to live.

Seeing the look in Spencer's eyes, she embraced the boy with a smile saying, "It's okay. You did the best you could."

Flint looked over at this and asked, "Who's the Ninja Kirby?" as Melanie replied, "That's Motoko. She helped us get here."

"Come on," Motoko said to Spencer, signaling for the boy the follow her, "We need to talk."

Spencer followed the ninja into her guest room as the girl sat down in front of him patting him on the head. The yellow Sword Kirby just looked at the ground, tears rolling down his cheeks as he bit his lip, trying not to cry.

"Spencer," Motoko said with a compassionate smile, "I know saving the village meant a great deal to you, but you need to let it go."

Spencer simply turned away from her, folding his arms as she placed an arm on his shoulder saying, "Life isn't always as bad as it seems."

Spencer simply looked down, walking towards the door as the ninja woman stood up and continued, "You can't spend your life running away from your problems. If you don't face them now, how can you deal with them?"

Spencer simply shook his head, reaching for the doorknob when the ninja woman let out a sigh. She wouldn't let the boy spend his whole life mourning over the loss of his village.

"Would those people want you to be sad?" she asked, "What about your parents? How would they feel if they saw you acting like life itself has ended?"

Spencer took his hand off the doorknob, his eyes wide open now. Motoko was right. Spencer's family wouldn't want this event to ruin his life. Besides, he'd done the best he could. It wasn't his fault that all those people were dead.

Motoko placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled saying, "Come on, go back to your friends. I'm sure they want to spend time with you."

The boy nodded and opened the door, but before he exited, he turned to the ninja woman and let down a tear saying, "Thank you, Motoko. I just needed a reality check," and that was that. Spencer wasn't going to beat himself up any longer. He just needed to deal with the fact that nothing could be done now.

Spencer walked down the hall as everyone had left the dining hall for breakfast was now over. He noticed Melanie and Flint walking down the halls toward him, but they were looking at each other so they didn't see him.

"I feel so bad for the boy," Melanie said with a sigh as Flint nodded saying, "His pain is understandable. I'm still having a little trouble getting over it."

Both were shocked when Spencer ran up to the two and embraced them in a group hug, which was hard with his small stubby arms but still doable. He had a smile on his face as he said, "I'm sorry for my behavior earlier," Melanie and Flint looking over at one-another and blinking, trying to comprehend where this mood shift had come from. But they were glad to see Spencer no longer upset.

Later that day, Fumu gave Flint the grand tour of the castle since he hadn't been there long enough to see the entire structure unlike Spencer and Melanie. The fighter Kirby looked around at everything in the room and marveled at the sight of it all. He just couldn't believe that he was living in a royal castle. Let alone that fact, he was also being led around the place by a beautiful young girl about his age.

The boy grinned as he asked, "Say, Fumu, just out of curiosity, does your family follow the arranged marriage law most kingdoms have?"

The princess shook her head and headed toward a door labeled 'Gym' saying, "No. My father figured that since he'd met my mom due to chance that everyone should choose his or her own life partner, even those of royal stature. The only downside to this law is that the prince or princess has to get married at some point."

Flint beamed and thought, 'Score one for me,' as he proceeded to ask, "Does your mate have to be someone of royal stature," as Fumu replied, "Nope, I can choose to marry a peasant if I wanted to."

Flint was so happy to hear this, but just as he was about to ask the third question, Fumu led him into the gym and his eyes sparkled, the boy hypnotized by what he saw. In this gym were a number of citizens wearing headbands and practicing combat. Some were Waddle Dees sporting blue headbands and the Waddle Doos wore green headbands. Among them were five Kirbies wearing headbands. One was a red Fighter Kirby with a white headband. Another was a brown Kirby with an orange headband. There was also a white one with a black headband sparring with a blue Kirby wearing a purple headband. The fifth was a gray Kirby wearing a rainbow-colored headband.

"I didn't think there would be others like me here!" the boy exclaimed, eyes sparkling as Fumu nodded and explained, "These are the castle's fighters. They help in our many battles against the demons, but they're mostly used for unarmed enemies. The Kirbies are our top soldiers who are often chosen for much more advanced tasks. They're the only ones capable of using the advanced techniques invented by their trainer, Knuckle Joe."

Upon mentioning that name, Flint's eyes sparkled even wider as he asked, "You mean the famous Knuckle Joe trains these guys?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," came a voice from behind the Fighter Kirby as Flint turned to face the source and gasped. He was face-to-face with his hero, the legendary fighter Knuckle Joe.

Knuckle Joe was a short imp-like creature with pointy ears and his eyebrows slanted to look angry even when he wasn't. He wore a small blue sleeveless top and blue sneakers along with a pair of white boxing gloves. Atop his head was spiky blond hair, both top halves separated by a white headband with a red gemstone in the center.

Flint bowed to him and said, "I am not worthy to be in your presence, Mr. Joe, sir."

"Please don't do that!" Joe remarked, narrowing his eyes, "I hate being worshiped," then waving his hand through his hair said, "even if I do deserve it."

He then noticed that Fumu was with the boy and asked, "Is this boy a new recruit?"

Fumu giggled and said, "Oh, I don't think..." but before she could finish, Flint stood in her way and exclaimed, "Yes! I would love to join your ranks!"

Joe grinned, wiped the front of his face like one usually wipes his nose and said, "Alright. You can start training right now, Mister... uh..."

"Flint," Fumu said as Joe nodded to the boy and said, "Yes, Flint, show me what you got!"

"That may have to wait," Fumu replied as Flint looked at her saying, "But I want to start now!" however, the princess shook her head saying, "We still have a tour to finish."

Flint sighed and lowered his head with shame. He had completely forgotten about the tour. It wasn't all bad. At least he could spend more time with Fumu and maybe try to work some of his Flint charm on her.

Meanwhile, Parm had just heard the status report from one of the Waddle Dees about the events of the previous night. As such, he had called Motoko to his chamber immediately.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" the ninja woman asked, bowing before the king as he said, "I would like to personally thank you for protecting our treasure from a wanted criminal last night."

Motoko blinked and pondered this for a moment than realized that they must have been referring to the male ninja from the other night. She simply bowed her head and fibbed, "Well, you know what they say. It's a ninja's duty to help those in need."

Of course, that wasn't her reason for fighting him, but she couldn't let them know that. In fact, she had no idea he was even going to be there. Her encounter with him was nothing more than chance.

After Parm gave the woman a long speech about heroism and bravery, she exited his room and headed back to hers to train some more. She refused to let the male ninja's words destroy her spirit. In fact, after she'd fallen asleep late the previous night, she was now interested in all of the advanced techniques she didn't know yet.

She sat on the tarp she'd requested for her room and flipped through a book she'd taken out of the library. It was a book on advanced ninja skills. The violet Kirby was surprised to see so many techniques she didn't know. In fact, all of her moves were considered basic, the kind of moves every beginner knew after a year of training. She wanted more than ever to learn these skills. Not only did she want to be prepared for that male ninja the next time he appeared, but she also wanted to be a true ninja master and refused to let a few insults destroy that dream.

Meanwhile, Flint and Fumu were now in a room where a bunch of servants were practicing with weaponry. The Waddle Dees used spears while the Doos practiced with short swords and maces. There were a few more Cappies in this group, all dressed in armor and using long swords. But, as predicted, there were five Sword Kirbies among them, all wearing green swordsman caps.

"These are the kingdom's swordsmen," Fumu explained, "They're used for battles against armed demons. Much like the Fighter Kirbies, the Sword Kirbies here are top soldiers used for more advanced missions."

Flint nodded and asked, "Say, Fumu, why are there less Kirbies here than other beings?"

Fumu let out a sigh saying, "We don't have very many Kirbies living in this kingdom. They only take up twenty percent of the population. Most other Kirbies live in the neighboring cities and other kingdoms."

Flint found that news to be a little sad. He'd never heard the stories of Pupupuland and how Kirbies rarely lived in it back when Popstar was still intact. And to make things worse or better depending on one's perspective, after having heard so much information about the kingdom, Flint had completely forgotten about his original plan to flirt with Fumu.

Meanwhile, Spencer and Melanie decided to have a stroll through New Pupupuland. They went to many of the town's attractions and everywhere they went, there were statues of Dedede. Hero or not, Spencer didn't much care for his face being plastered all over town. It wasn't that he found Dedede to be ugly. Those statues just seemed to give him feelings of doubt every time he looked at them.

"You know, if you ignore the darkness, this city's actually quite lovely," Melanie said as Spencer nodded and sighed, "This really helps me forget about Norwal."

There was a long silence until Spencer laughed and said, "Don't worry. Mentioning it didn't do anything."

Melanie was very relieved to hear that. Spencer had learned to accept his fate a lot faster than most in his position would have. Whatever it was Motoko had said to change his attitude, Melanie needed to thank her later.

Suddenly, their quiet time ended when they heard the loud sound of royal horns going off. They quickly ran to where a group of people were gathered and the Waddle Dees had lain out a red carpet, confetti flying everywhere. At the end of the red carpet stood Memu and Parm, preparing themselves for this event. What was this event? That would soon be revealed.

Parm noticed Melanie and Spencer in the crowd and signaled them to come to his side as they shrugged and ran over. Spencer stood next to the queen while Melanie stood next to the king. At that exact moment, Fumu exited the castle and ran toward her parents, standing between them.

"Fumu, where were you?" Memu snapped, "I was worried you wouldn't make it! You know how important today is!"

"Sorry," Fumu said blushing, "My tour with Flint lasted longer than I thought it would."

"Say, where is flint?" Melanie asked as Fumu sighed, "He took a job as one of our royal fighters and is being trained by Knuckle Joe now."

"You mean THE Knuckle Joe!?" Spencer remarked as Melanie blinked and replied, "I'm surprised you know who that is."

"It's not hard," Spencer said with a shrug, "Flint never shuts up about him. He must be having the time of his life right now."

The two were about to ask what was going on, but that question was soon answered when the crowd started talking amongst themselves, saying things like "Did you hear? Metaknight's returning to the kingdom" and "Metaknight has returned from his quest". As soon as Melanie heard this, her eyes filled with hearts while the girl sniffed, "I never thought I'd ever get to meet him."

At that very moment, a man started to walk down the red carpet while all became silent. Spencer couldn't believe his eyes. Metaknight was exactly how everyone described him. He was a dark and mysterious figure with a small round body similar to that of a Kirby. He hid his blue skin as well as he could with a dark cape and a silver mask over his face with a slot for the eyes. He also had two silver shoulder pads with a yellow rim.

The legendary hero walked to the end of the carpet and bowed saying, "It feels good to be back, your majesty and highness."

"It's wonderful to have you back with us, Metaknight," Parm said with a goofy smile, Memu asking, "How long will you be staying this time?"

"Don't worry," the knight replied, "The Star Soldier Alliance decided I'd done enough. I've been given a month-long vacation, so you can expect me to stay here for a while."

"Oh, that's fantastic!" Parm replied as Melanie blushed at the sound of that. Metaknight, her childhood hero, was going to be living in the same structure as her for a whole month. If she wasn't such a strong individual, she would have fainted by now.

Spencer, however, was a little creeped out. No, Metaknight's appearance didn't scare him. It was Melanie actually acting like a girl. Such a sight of unnatural.

Fumu bowed to Metaknight and said, "It is an honor to have you back among us, Sir Metaknight," as the knight lifted the girl back up saying, "Please, Fumu, a princess should not bow to one of her subjects."

Fumu blushed a little herself as Melanie started to fume with jealousy. It stopped when Metaknight noticed her and Spencer and asked, "Who are they?"

"The Sword Kirby is Spencer and the Hammer Kirby is Melanie," Parm replied, "Their home was recently destroyed, so they're living with us now. Also, if you happen to see a violet Ninja Kirby and an orange Fighter Kirby, those two are with them."

"I see," Metaknight replied as he turned to Melanie saying, "I am sorry for your loss. If I was there, I would have stopped the attack myself," Melanie feeling overwhelmed by all of this.

After the conversation, Metaknight was led into the castle. Spencer was truly amazed. Everyone seemed a lot more at peace now that Metaknight was back. He'd heard that Metaknight was a great hero, but was he really this great?

Knuckle Joe had started training with Flint as he stroked his chin saying, "You've got potential, kid, but let's see some of your advanced techniques."

Flint grinned and said, "You're gonna love this, master," as he held his foot back and shouted, "ROUNDHOUSE!!!!" throwing his foot forward only to find himself getting the same results from the first time, passing out after spinning like a top for ten seconds.

Joe sighed and lifted the kid up and said, "It looks like you need to start with the basics, kid. You shouldn't try to use one of my moves until you truly understand how to use it."

"But I read your guide on how to use it," Flint protested, "How come I can't?"

"It's about more than just knowing how it works," Joe replied as he led Flint to another part of the gym, "You need to learn how to harness your power. Only then can you truly go far."

Flint's eyes sparkled. Knuckle Joe was truly an inspirational fighter and this Fighter Kirby was going to do all he could to master the imp's techniques.


	5. Chapter 5

Land of Kirby

This was truly a day of celebration. Metaknight had returned to New Pupupuland. It seemed his presence here gave everyone a boost of confidence and a sense of security, and why not? After all, Metaknight was the hero who had finished Nightmare off for good.

The knight sat in the living room, the fire place lit as he admired the scenery. He had forgotten just how beautiful this castle was.

"So, how many quests did you go on this year?" Memu asked as Metaknight looked at all the portraits of Dedede saying, "I think I went on about 20. I swear, things have been getting intense lately. The demons are becoming a lot stronger. I just hope the other star soldiers are okay without me."

Spencer was caught off-guard when Metaknight turned his gaze towards the boy and asked, "What exactly destroyed your village?"

Melanie smiled and said, "I'm very glad you asked..." only for the knight to clear his throat and remark, "I was asking the boy, not you."

Spencer let out a sigh and replied, "To be honest, I have no clue. Flint was the only one who witnessed the event. We only predicted it."

"Did you say 'predicted'?" Metaknight replied as Melanie cut in saying, "Yes, there's a field across from where our village once stood where-"

"An old fortune teller was buried, right?" Metaknight interrupted, "I know of that story. You saw the attack coming and no one else believed you, right?"

Melanie nodded, a blush forming on her face. Metaknight was even smarter than she'd ever imagined. In her eyes, he was perfect for her. However, Spencer thought Melanie might not be the right girl for Metaknight. Of course, neither of them knew just how old Metaknight was. If he was to date Melanie, it would surely be illegal, even for him.

"Well, thank you for telling me what you could," the knight said, bowing his head, "Where is your friend, Flint? I shall ask him what happened."

"Now wouldn't be a good time," Fumu replied, shaking her head, "He's currently training with Knuckle Joe, and you know how that guy gets when someone interrupts a training session."

All the while, Knuckle Joe had given all of his fighters some time off to have some fun and relax; all except the Fighter Kirbies. Of course there was Flint, but much to the boy's surprise, the other five were also present for this training session.

"Alright, can any of you tell me why I have called you five here?" Joe asked, clearly referring to everyone present except for Flint.

The red fighter raised his hand and said, "You called us here to help us improve our skills."

Joe shook his head and replied, "Sorry, Michael, but this time, that's not the case."

The brown female Kirby rose her hand and asked, "Did you call us here to tell us how great we are?" grinning with pride while the other four groaned, slapping their foreheads.

"I hate to burst your bubble, Melody, but that's not it either," the trainer replied as the brown Kirby, Melody, looked down with disappointment.

The white male with the black headband bowed and said, "You have called us here to reward us with sushi," Joe marching over to him slowly before socking him over the head while saying, "You need to stop thinking with only your stomach, Basil."

The blue Kirby jumped excitedly saying, "You're going to let us train in the jungle gym?" as Joe stared at the boy, his eye twitching while he spat, "How many times must I tell you we don't have one, Jason!?"

Flint simply blinked as he stared at the Kirbies. Sure, the one called Michael seemed intelligent, but the other three were like children. Then again, Flint couldn't really blame them. A Kirby's childish side tended to last longer than that of any other species. It also didn't help that all Kirbies had bottomless stomachs, so Basil's obvious obsession with eating was understandable.

However, the gray Kirby, another female, rose her hand saying, "You've called us here to demonstrate the abilities we know to the newcomer so he can follow our example."

Joe breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I knew I could count on you to get the right answer, Sam. You and Michael, I feel, are the only ones who really care about their duty."

"HEY, I CARE ABOUT MY JOB!!" Melody snapped as Joe glared stating, "You care more about looking good in front of others than fighting demons and protecting New Pupupuland!"

Melody hung her head in shame in response to that comment. The sad fact was that Joe was right.

Michael stood up and asked, "May we start now, master?" as the trainer nodded and pressed a button on the side of the wall, a big stone statue of a suit of armor known as Masher appearing. Flint was a bit confused, but the others knew right away that this statue was their test dummy.

Michael charged towards it, flames surrounding his arm as he shouted, "UPPERCUT!!!!" sending his fist upward, smacking the statue hard in the chin and creating a small crack in it. Melody started punching rapidly towards it shouting, "VULCAN JAB!!!!" sending an onslaught of energy balls from her fists towards the statue. Basil charged up his own fist shouting, "SMASH PUNCH!!!!" shooting a much more powerful energy ball into the statue's chest, putting a small dent in the spot. Jason leapt towards it with a maniacal look in his eyes shouting, "SPIN KICK!!!!!" spinning his body around before releasing an energy blade from his foot, putting a small gash across the statue's mid-section.

Finally, Sam stood tall and proud, held her foot back and shouted, "ROUNDHOUSE!!!!" throwing it forward and unleashing a powerful burst of energy, both arms of the statue collapsing. Flint's eye sparkled with amazement. That was the move he wanted to learn more than anything.

"Excellent job, guys," Joe said, clapping his hands, "You see, each one of them specializes in one of my master techniques. After all, they are hard to learn. I'm sure you can eventually learn one of those five moves yourself."

Flint nodded in understanding and was more than eager to start training. However, just as the lesson was about to begin, Joe's body shuddered when he heard the door to his gym open.

"Excuse me..." came a deep voice as Joe turned to the source shouting, "HEY, WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA INTERRUPTING MY TRAINING!!!!" his eyes going wide with shock when he noticed Metaknight standing there. Flint was just as surprised to see him there as were the other five Kirbies.

"I see you haven't changed much," Metaknight said with a snicker as Joe leapt towards the knight with his fist out, Metaknight pulling out a golden blade with sharp edges and using its blunt end to block the incoming strike.

Joe stopped his attack and folded his arms saying, "You're as much of a pain in my side as ever," Metaknight laughing as he remarked, "Is that any way to treat an old friend?"

Flint simply stared and said, "I'm confused," as Sam sighed, placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "Their friendship is complicated."

After the excitement died down, Metaknight requested that he speak to Flint in private. Joe was angry to have his new student taken away from his first training session, but nevertheless, he knew that whatever Metaknight wanted with the boy must have been important.

'Wow, the legendary Metaknight wants to talk to me...' Flint thought as he grinned, 'This is the best day ever!'

Metaknight led the boy to his personal quarters, a small room with a futon as his bed saying, "Flint, your friend Spencer tells me that you witnessed the destruction of your village. Is that correct?"

The orange Kirby nodded, a bit confused by the fact that Metaknight knew who Spencer was. Then again, it already made little sense to the boy that the knight was even in the castle to begin with. Who would have guessed that he lived here?

"Tell me," Metaknight said as he looked into the boy's eyes, "What attacked your village?"

"An army of demons did," Flint replied as he asked, "Why do you want to know?"

The knight simply nodded and asked, "Was anyone leading them?"

"I don't think so," Flint said, scratching his temple and ignoring the fact that Metaknight hadn't heard his question, "but there was one demon that seemed to be the only one of its kind. It was some kind of baboon-like creature with blade-like claws and..."

"Kirisakin!" Metaknight interrupted, Flint looking at him strangely and asking, "What?" as the knight looked out a window and sighed, "I thought I had seen the last of that monster. How can he still be alive?"

Flint had a look of confusion on his face. How did Metaknight know that monster? Furthermore, what did the knight mean?

Suddenly, the knight's eyes narrowed as he turned behind him shouting, "Show yourself!"

Flint was now terrified as a portion of the wall slid down like a sheet of paper. The Fighter Kirby breathed a sigh of relief when he found that behind it was Motoko. The ninja woman let out a sigh with a disappointed look.

"Who are you?" Metaknight asked as the girl bowed and said, "Sir Metaknight, it is an honor to meet you."

"I repeat," the knight said, pulling out his blade and holding it up to her face, "Who are you!?"

Motoko slowly pushed the blade out of the way and said, "You needn't worry about me. I helped Spencer and Melanie get here. My name is Motoko, if you really want to know."

Flint blinked as Motoko bowed to him and said, "You must be their friend, the one who didn't believe them," the fighter even more confused now.

"Wait, so you're a friend?" Flint asked as the ninja nodded, Metaknight still not fully trusting of the woman's intentions.

"Why were you hiding?" Metaknight asked, "I'd recognize ninja camouflage anywhere."

Motoko let out a sigh and replied, "I was trying to see if my ninja training was paying off. I guess I am just a beginner."

With that, she bowed to the two and walked toward her room. Flint simply shrugged and asked, "Can I go back to training now?"

Metaknight nodded and walked off to another area. He was done with Flint and wanted to see more of the castle. After all, it had been a long time since he had been there.

As the knight trekked through the halls, he looked at all the portraits of the late King Dedede and grimaced. Just the sight of such a penguin being worshiped was a painful sight to him. But why? What did Metaknight have against Dedede? After all, he had helped out in the battle against Nightmare.

Suddenly, everyone in the castle could hear a rumbling noise coming from outside. Then the sound of a bell could be heard throughout as Metaknight's eyes narrowed. He knew the sound of the town alarm when he heard it. There was something wrong and he had to put a stop to it.

Melanie and Spencer were playing a game of Go Fish to pass the time when the table they were playing on started to vibrate. When they heard the sound of a bell, the two just looked at each other and blinked in confusion.

Joe grimaced when Flint entered the gym and snapped, "Alright, Kirbies, you know what the alarm means, right?"

"Time for lunch?" Basil asked as Michael bonked him over the head and sighed, "It means that the kingdom's under attack, you moron."

Flint's eyes went wide at the sound of this as Joe ordered the fighters to help out against whatever this threat was. Flint walked over to the trainer and asked, "Can I help?" as Joe rubbed his chin and sighed, "Well, it does seem a tad early, but I guess this would make good experience for you. After all, most demons that attack this kingdom aren't exactly threatening."

With that, Joe and Flint ran from the gym last together, headed for the door to the castle. Flint was not only excited to be fighting alongside his idol, he was also looking forward to seeing the great Knuckle Joe in action.

When Spencer and Melanie saw a group of royal soldiers headed for the castle exit, they realized that something was wrong. As such, the two nodded at one-another and followed behind the sword-wielding army.

Soon enough, all the residents of the castle who could fight were outside. This meant all but a few butlers and the royal family were out. However, two fighters were missing; Motoko and Metaknight. Where were they during such a dire situation?

Well, that didn't matter. What mattered was that this demon was defeated as soon as possible, whatever it happened to be. The group stood in a line outside the castle as a large being appeared.

Knuckle Joe's eyes went wide when he saw the demon. His eye was twitching and his jaw was dropped as right before his very eyes was a large purple suit of armor wearing a cape and wielding a flail, a few small demons behind it.

"No..." Joe said while gritting his teeth, "How are you still alive, Masher?"

The armor shifted its eyes toward the fighter and glowed briefly before the large creature started to swing its flail around, hurling it towards the army as Joe's eyes went wide, the boy shouting, "MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!!!!!!!"

Everyone leapt out of the flail's path, barely escaping from harm as Flint asked, "What is that thing?"

"I'm afraid this is tougher than what we usually get," Joe replied through clenched teeth, "That's Masher, a horrible monster that I thought I'd destroyed a couple of years ago!"

As soon as everyone had gotten themselves sorted out, the Dees, Doos and Cappies charged towards the smaller demons. There were small beings with fire for hair known as Burning Leos, cute floating cat heads called Scarfies, small fire-breathing dragon heads called Galbos and many more. These were the kinds of demons the student soldiers had been trained for.

Masher was just about to attack them when Joe nodded to the Fighter Kirbies, all six including Flint nodding back to him. "Do you feel up to this?" Joe asked as Flint grinned saying, "I was born for this."

However, there was no way Spencer and Melanie would allow Flint to face a demon like Masher even if he did have the support of six others. They had no idea what that creature was themselves, but they had a feeling it would be too powerful even for the seven of them to fight by themselves.

As such, the two ran over to the group as Joe shook his head, but his mind changed when Flint assured the trainer that they were strong. Being Kirbies, Joe saw no reason to doubt Flint's words. After all, Kirbies were known to be tougher than the kingdom's other soldiers.

Just as Masher rose his flail, the nine warriors leapt toward Masher. The Fighter Kirbies along with Joe kicked him hard in the face causing him to stumble backwards while Melanie bashed him in the head with her hammer, Spencer swinging his sword downward and putting a small scratch in the armor. Sadly, Spencer couldn't do much better than that. After all, he was still inexperienced with a sword. For him to even go that far was impressive on its own.

Joe then signaled the others to run behind Masher. They nodded and did so, Joe following close behind as Masher turned to face them.

"What now, master?" Flint asked as Joe grinned and stated, "We lead him out into the forest. That way, no bystanders get hurt."

"Well, your hero's a lot smarter than he looks," Melanie said to Flint as Joe snapped, "I HEARD THAT!!!!" while the group headed towards the forest, Masher running after them. There was a problem, though. Masher's large size allowed him to make big steps, meaning he was able to catch up with them despite his slow running speed.

With that, Joe spun his body around shouting, "SPIN KICK!!!!" sending an energy blast to the armor's face, slowing down Masher at least a little bit. But while the group ran for the forest, one question remained. Where were Motoko and Metaknight during all of this?

Motoko knew that there was a threat, but she stayed inside the castle, heading towards that green door from the other night. What did she want that was in that room? What was so important about opening that green door?

The answer wouldn't become clear any time soon as at that very moment, a familiar dark figure appeared behind her, his mask over his face in a Dracula-like fashion as he asked, "Excuse me, Miss Motoko, but why aren't you helping your friends fight?"

Motoko turned to the knight with a look of shock, eyes shifting back and forth as she sighed, "I don't think I'm good enough."

Of course, the ninja girl didn't really mean that. Just because she lost to a ninja didn't mean she couldn't beat a Demon. She was hiding something, but what?

"Look, Miss Motoko," Metaknight said, looking into her eyes, "You need to try before you decide that you can't win. Your friends might very well need your help. A true warrior fights to the bitter end no matter how bad things look."

Motoko sighed and smiled saying, "You're right, Metaknight. I was foolish for putting myself down like that."

Of course, the only reason Motoko was agreeing was because she knew Metaknight wouldn't leave her alone until this fight was over. She needed to be patient a little longer, it seemed.

Soon enough, Masher was outside of town while the other soldiers fought the mere lackeys. While Melody, Basil, Jason and Sam distracted the beast with their energy attacks, Michael leapt towards Masher and delivered an uppercut to his face, Masher unable to respond in time. Flint followed behind Michael, landing another kick to Masher's face while Joe leapt into the air shouting, "SKY KICK!!!!!!" diving downward, foot first, into the top of Masher's head.

Spencer and Melanie both ran towards the demon as he was distracted. Melanie bashed his right foot with her hammer while Spencer jabbed his sword into the left, however, their advantage was soon to come to an end.

Masher let out a fierce battle cry as he swung his flail downward, knocking eight of the fighters into trees, Flint going face-first into a rock. Joe slowly recovered, rubbing his head as he said, "It seems he's just as strong as ever."

But it didn't end there. Soon, fire started to shoot out of the souls of Masher's feet as he rose into the air. Spencer's eyes went wide as Joe growled.

"Wait, he has rockets in his feet?" Spencer asked as Joe nodded angrily and said, "He's at his most threatening in this state."

Things got worse when Masher started to spin his body around, flail sticking outward. What happened next was even weirder as energy balls flew from the spiked ball. Basil opened his mouth as one flew towards him, Melody angrily kicking him out of the way and taking the shot from it herself as she flew into another tree.

"You idiot!" Jason spat, "Why in god's name would you try to EAT a deadly energy ball!?"

"Well, it looked tasty..." Basil replied, but before Jason could scold him, he took in an energy ball himself followed by Basil, both rolling across the ground before ramming into a pair of big stones.

Sam and Michael did all they could to dodge the blasts, but even they couldn't hold their own against the onslaught. Melanie tried her best to dodge the blasts herself, but got struck hard in the back as she passed out.

"MELANIE!!!" Spencer cried as he turned his attention towards the green female, his sword starting to glow.

"SPENCER, LOOK OUT!!!!" Flint shouted only to get hit hard in the back himself, Spencer quickly turning around, his sword turning with him.

The boy's eyes widened when a blade made of light shot out of the end of his blade after he'd turned it. The beam traveled all the way up to Masher, blasting straight through the oncoming energy balls as Masher's eyes went wide.

"It can't be..." Joe uttered, his eyes just as wide, "Did he just use what I think he did?"

However, just as the beam closed in on Masher, the demon closing his eyes and bracing himself for the impact, the beam started to shrink in size. When the beam hit the suit of armor, it left a small cut in it but that was it. The attack hadn't been enough to defeat Masher once and for all.

Joe sighed in disappointment thinking, 'I knew it couldn't have been the Sword Beam,' but he looked up in shock when the rockets in Masher's feet started to subside, slowly running out of fuel as he fell to the ground. But why had this happened?

Then he saw it, an oil leak in the spot that Spencer had cut open. He grinned and shouted, "Spencer, you canceled out his rockets!"

But Spencer wasn't nearly as excited. He simply blinked and replied, "I... I did?"

He then remembered that Masher was still alive and started to panic as the armor glared at him, flail raised. However, Joe was not going to let the boy die. With that, he leapt towards the suit of armor and landed a hard kick to his cheek, diverting Masher's attention only for Masher to quickly grab him with his free arm.

He then proceeded to lift Joe up into the air and slam him hard into the ground, Spencer unable to stop him as the boy cringed. Joe was barely able to move as Masher lifted his foot.

"NO!!!!!" Spencer cried as he ran towards Joe in an attempt to save him. However, he was too far away.

But, luck soon struck. Seconds before Masher could lower his foot, sharp objects flew into his foot as he cried in pain, stumbling backwards and falling on his rear end. Spencer's eyes sparkled at the sight of this. He knew that these sharp objects were Motoko's daggers.

The ninja girl leapt into the area and grabbed hold of Joe pulling him to safety as the fighter grunted, folding his arms. If there was one thing he hated, it was having to be rescued.

Metaknight soon followed, leaping in front of Spencer saying, "You've all done a good job, but now it's time to end this."

With that, he leapt at Masher, his sword raised as he sent it downward, a large cut traveling down the middle of the armor. Masher's eyes narrowed as his body split in half, both halves falling to the ground with a thud.

Spencer's eyes went wide, his jaw dropped. He knew Metaknight was strong, but that was incredible. The boy now knew just how much of a hero Metaknight was.


	6. Chapter 6

Land of Kirby

Joe sighed and folded his arms, laughing. It seemed that Metaknight hadn't yet lost his charm. He was still the strong star soldier everyone remembered him as.

Melanie's eyes were full of hearts as she said, "I was saved by Metaknight," Flint staring at the girl as if she was crazy.

However, Metaknight wasn't finished yet. The knight walked over to the two halves of the living suit of armor, his eyes narrowing as he leapt back, his sword high above his head. The others watched with much curiosity as Metaknight swung the sword in a circular formation, a large tornado appearing before him.

Spencer's eyes went wide, Flint's jaw dropped and Melanie's eyes sparkled as the twister picked up the two halves and smashed them into tiny pieces. The fragments of Masher fell to the ground in a heap as Metaknight sighed, "There, now we'll never see him again."

Joe simply shook his head and placed a hand on the knight's shoulder saying, "You really are amazing, you know that?"

While this went on, the other soldiers had made good work of Masher's servants. Unfortunately, New Pupupuland was now full of dead demons. This meant one thing: The royal soldiers were going to have to clean up this mess.

Nevertheless, this was a moment to celebrate. Not only had an army of demons been slayed, but the destructive robot known as Masher had been defeated. But while this was certainly a good thing, one had to wonder what the others would have done had Metaknight not been around to deliver the final blow.

Joe turned to his Fighter Kirbies and held his hands on his waist saying, "Alright, guys, it's time to rest up. You've all done a lot of hard work."

Michael shook his head and said, "I'm going to help clean up the town," as Melody, feeling envious, shouted, "I'm doing it too!"

Basil and Jason simply shrugged and said, "Whatever," and left the area, clearly not willing to clean up the mess the soldiers had left. Even Sam didn't feel like cleaning up the mess. She was tired after all the work she had done.

Spencer breathed heavily and said, "I hope I never have to face something like that again any time soon," as Melanie sighed, shook her head and patted him on the shoulder.

However, her mood changed when Metaknight walked towards the two. Melanie started to blush and stood in front of Spencer, the boy shouting, "Hey!" as Melanie ignored him, hearts floating around her head.

Metaknight stood before the two and asked, "May I speak with you in private?" as Melanie's eyes sparkled, the girl saying, "Oh, Metaknight, I'll do anything for you!"

The knight simply blinked as he waved his hand in a 'Move out of the way' fashion saying, "I wasn't talking to you. I meant your friend, Spencer."

Melanie's eyes went wide, a look of disappointment on her face while her eye twitched. At this moment, she felt as if all of her dreams had been shattered. But what would Metaknight want with Spencer?

The yellow Sword Kirby stepped forward, returning his sword to his sheath and nodded his head, Metaknight giving him the 'follow me' motion with his hand, Spencer following close behind. Melanie's cheeks puffed up as a vein formed on her forehead, but she needed to remind herself that this probably wasn't as bad as she thought it was.

Motoko walked over to the girl and placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled while saying, "Don't worry, Melanie. I'm sure Metaknight sees how powerful you are. He just doesn't know how to express his admiration."

"That's not it at all," Melanie replied, gritting her teeth as Motoko blinked, feeling rather confused by those words but shrugged as she headed back towards the castle.

Metaknight had taken Spencer to an area that even most of the kingdom's citizens didn't know about. It was a cliff only a few feet West from town with a river down below. Spencer marveled at the view as Metaknight sat down, looking at a tombstone that was placed there with a sigh. The tombstone read 'Here lies Jecra, a true friend'.

After admiring the view, Spencer got right to the point and asked, "Why have you brought me here, Metaknight?"

The man let out a sigh and asked, "Spencer, do you know the name of that technique you used on Masher back there?"

Spencer blinked and replied, "You mean that beam thing? I have no idea what that was. Heck, I don't even know how I used it."

Though Spencer couldn't see it, Metaknight was smiling under his mask as he explained, "What you used back there was an advanced sword technique called the Sword Beam."

Spencer's eyes went wide at the sound of that. He had performed an advanced technique? No, it couldn't have been possible. He was an amateur, a beginner. He couldn't possibly perform an advanced technique.

"I know it might sound crazy," Metaknight said, "but I happen to be able to use that skill myself."

Spencer looked at the knight with disbelief. The knight sighed and stood up, pulling out his sword and lifting it above his head. With that, he sent the blade downward as a blade made entirely out of energy forming, shooting downward and cutting a large boulder down by the river in half.

Spencer's eyes went wide once again as the knight put away his sword saying, "You see? I told you could use it."

The boy let out a sigh and said, "That's definitely it, but mine was so weak. And unlike you, I wasn't even trying to use it."

"That's normal," the knight replied as he sat back down, "Just like you, it seemed completely random the first time I used it. And like you, it was weak, barely enough to do any damage at all."

He then turned to the boy, looked into his eyes and said, "Spencer, I would like to take you as my student and train you."

Spencer froze, eyes wide open and jaw dropped. Was Metaknight being serious? This seemed far too good to be true.

"Are you sure about that?" he asked as the knight nodded saying, "You show a lot of potential but you don't know how to use that potential. With my help, you can achieve great things. You just have to trust me."

The boy didn't know what to do now. It wasn't as if he didn't trust Metaknight. It was that he didn't trust himself. But maybe Metaknight was right. Maybe this was for his own benefit. After all, Metaknight was the best teacher any swordsman could ask for.

With that in mind, the boy stood up and sighed, "Alright, Metaknight. I'll be your student."

The knight smiled once again under his mask as he got up to head back to the castle. But just as he was about to leave, Spencer noticed the tombstone and examined it before asking, "Hey, who's Jecra?"

Metaknight froze and lowered his head saying, "Jecra... was my best friend. He and I were partners in combat."

Spencer looked down and said, "I'm sorry," as the knight sighed, "I've been over it for some time, so don't worry about it."

Spencer nodded and headed back toward the castle, Metaknight sighing and looking at the tombstone. The knight proceeded to pull a sword out, but not his sword. This was a silver sword with a gold-plated handle. Then memories of his days as a star soldier returned.

The truth was Metaknight had not gotten over the death of his friend, Jecra. Everyday he'd remember the man for some reason or another.

He remembered it like it was yesterday. Jecra was a proud man with elf-like ears and blond spiky hair that was separated by a long piece of his mask. His mask was gray and shaped like a shield. He also wore a green cape, a blue battle outfit and a belt with a star in the middle. He also had purple flesh.

It was a typical dark day on the planet of Dark Star and Jecra was in a forest face-to-face with a demon known as Gao-Gao. Gao-Gao was a wolf-like creature that stood on two legs and had a pair of long arms with razor sharp claws.

Normally, a Gao-Gao would be an easy opponent to defeat, but Jecra was having trouble with this one. The wolf kept lunging at him, lashing its claws out as an incredible speed. The warrior did all he could to block the slashes, but eventually, his silver sword was knocked from his hands as it flew into a tree, stuck in place while the wolf-like creature pinned him to the ground.

But just as Gao-Gao was about to claim its prey, it felt a sharp pain in its back as it howled in agony, rolling around as Jecra took advantage of this, getting to his feet as he saw the one who had saved him. His savior was none other than Metaknight who nodded and said, "I'll distract him. You get your sword back."

Jecra dared not question the man as he simply ran towards the tree. The Gao-Gao eventually shook off the pain in his back as he glared at Metaknight, arm raised as he sent a series of rapid-paced slashes towards the knight. Metaknight did all he could to block the oncoming assault, but even he was having a bit of trouble with this one.

But, as luck would have it, Jecra managed to grab hold of his sword, prying it out of the tree and leaping towards the Gao-Gao, slashing its arm as blood spewed out, the wolf crying it pain. Metaknight nodded and leapt towards the beast, spinning his sword like a drill creating a hold in the demon's other hand.

Gao-Gao cried out in pain as Jecra proceeded to slice the arm he'd damaged off while Metaknight slashed the demon hard in the back, Gao-Gao crying out in agonizing pain as he collapsed. Jecra turned to Metaknight and smiled under his mask, introducing himself. As the two shook hands, an unbreakable friendship had been born.

Metaknight sighed and placed Jecra's sword against his tombstone. He said nothing as he turned and left the area.

Meanwhile, the soldiers were still cleaning up the mess, Melody doing all she could to outdo Michael in terms of cleanup. When Michael picked up one corpse to carry to drag out of town, Melody would try to pick up two. However, due to the fact that Kirbies had generally stubby arms, this only resulted in Melody progressing much slower than Michael did.

But where did the bodies of the demons go? They were to be dropped down a pit outside of town, but of course, the soldiers had to be careful around that pit. See, anything that went down there would be devoured by a large green worm-like creature below known as a Gobblin.

Melanie and Flint were just sitting in the living room playing cards when Spencer entered the building. Melanie smiled and asked, "What did Metaknight want to talk to you about?" as the boy whistled and replied, "You're not going to believe this, but he wants to teach me his techniques."

Flint spat out some energy juice he was drinking at the time all over Melanie's face and spat, "WHAT DID YOU SAY!!!!??" as Melanie scowled at Flint, shaking her body and spraying droplets of the juice in his face.

Spencer chuckled and said, "I'm serious. Metaknight wants me as his student, something about me using something called the Sword Beam or some sword-related talk like that."

Melanie's eyes went wide as Flint broke into laughter. With that, he got up, walked over to Spencer and patted him on the back saying, "Spencer, you are one lucky Sword Kirby. Metaknight is the best swordsman out there. No one can possibly train you better than he can."

Flint had a point there. Perhaps this would be good for Spencer. After all, he was the last member of his family. If he didn't uphold the family tradition, who would?

Meanwhile, far from the city, a group of Kirbies was walking around a forest. One was green and had a green energy coming out of a golden crown with a blue orb in the center. This was a Plasma Kirby, a Kirby that was rarely ever seen nowadays. The other was a light-red Kirby with a similar crown and a green emerald in the middle. Flames erupted from his head. This was known as a Fire Kirby, another rare sight. Another had ice coming out of his head. He wore a thinner crown than the others with a hat piece at the front along with a blue crystal star in the center. This was known as an Ice Kirby. The last one was white and had a green gemstone in the middle of her crown. Coming out of the crown was a twister, and this was known as a Tornado Kirby.

What were these four doing together? Not only were they in small numbers now, but years ago, they never got along with one-another. There was even a big war that took place among them. All of the Fire and Tornado Kirbies went to battle against the Ice and Plasma Kirbies. In fact, it was that very war that dwindled their population and was the very reason many of them didn't exist now.

However, here they were, one from each tribe traveling together as a group. But why? What were they trying to do?

The Plasma Kirby turned to her comrades and asked, "How much farther do we have to go? My feet are picking up a LOT of static. It's not easy holding so much in."

"Quit complaining," the Fire Kirby remarked, "I'm sure we'll get their soon, especially with a tough guy like me backing us up."

The Ice Kirby laughed and placed a hand on his shoulder but stopped when he realized the Fire was serious and said, "Oh, I'm so sorry," the Fire Kirby glaring at him.

The Tornado Kirby rolled her eyes and said, "To answer your question, Purazuma, we still have at least five days until we reach the sacred temple of elements."

The Plasma Kirby, named Purazuma, groaned and wined, "I can't hold this static in any longer!" as the Fire Kirby, whose name was Houka, slapped his forehead and said, "Well, don't hold it in then!"

"But what if we're attacked?" Purazuma replied as the Ice Kirby, Koori, patted her on the shoulder and said, "I'm sure there isn't a demon for miles of here."

As he did that, his arm felt a jolt of electricity as he quickly pulled it away, blowing on it to ease the pain. Purazuma wasn't kidding. She WAS full of static.

The Tornado Kirby, Tatsumaki, looked around and said, "Make sure you don't hit something important with that."

With that Purazuma threw her hands forward as a large wave of electricity with a barrier around it shot from her body, blowing up a number of trees in its path. The girl breathed a sigh of relief as Houka tapped his foot and asked, "Can we get going now?"

Suddenly, Tatsumaki's eyes went wide as she said, "Be on high alert, guys. I think we just woke something up."

Her prediction was correct. At that exact moment, a large stag beetle with only two arms known as Bugzzy appeared before them. It let out a loud roar as Houka glared at Purazuma and said, "Nice going," Purazuma letting down tears and crying, "I'm so sorry!"

Koori started to tremble until the beetle turned its gaze towards him, the Ice Kirby screaming like a little girl. Houka just rolled his eyes and stood forward saying, "I guess it's time for me to show you wimps just how it's done!"

With that, he placed his feet firmly against the ground as his cheeks puffed up, a large burst of flames shooting from his mouth. Bugzzy laughed briefly, opening up his shell to reveal his wings and took to the skies, avoiding the incoming fire.

He then let out a loud battle cry as a series of ladybirds bigger than the average one emerged from inside of his body. Where he kept them... that would probably just confuse people further. He then pointed at the four Kirbies as the ladybirds nodded, flying towards them.

The four looked at one-another with rather unamused looks. An army of ladybirds? This was nothing for them.

Houka opened his mouth and burned down four of them as Purazuma unleashed a small little spark from her hands. Since she'd released all of her static earlier, this was the best she could do for the time being.

Koori blew a cold breath at one ladybird, freezing it in a block of ice. He then proceeded to kick it into another ladybird, both falling to the ground in defeat.

Tatsumaki waited for them to close in on her as she started to spin her body around while standing on her tiptoes. A small twister formed around her, pulling the ladybirds toward her and taking them apart, fragments of their body and green insect blood flying all over the place.

Bugzzy glared furiously at the group as he soared towards Houka. Unfortunately, the Fire Kirby was too busy posing after taking down a group of ladybirds, so he was unable to notice the incoming beetle as Bugzzy latched his pincers around him and flipped his body backwards, ramming Houka's head hard into the ground. Now the Fire Kirby was out cold.

Koori screamed like a frightened child and ran for cover, making him useless now as Tatsumaki rolled her eyes, spinning her body around to create a twister, rushing towards the beetle. Bugzzy let out a loud roar as she rammed into his chest, sending him into a tree while her attack continued.

While she did this, Purazuma started rubbing her feet quickly against the ground. This was how a Plasma Kirby built up static, and she'd need that to use her strongest abilities.

Bugzzy shook his head after hitting the tree as Tatsumaki closed in on him, hoping to deliver another strike to him. However, the beetle was ready this time. When the twister closed in on him, he lashed out his pincers, aiming them precisely towards the middle of the tornado. He proceeded to close the pincers in on themselves, catching the Kirby in place thus stopping the wind in its path.

Tatsumaki groaned in pain as Bugzzy leaned his head back, ramming her head hard into a tree behind him then flew towards Purazuma. As he closed in on her, the Plasma Kirby's eyes went wide. She knew she had to act fast.

As such, she stopped rubbing her feet against the ground and threw her hands forward, a green arrow made out of electricity surrounded by rings shooting out of her body. Bugzzy's eyes went wide as the arrow struck entered his mouth, blasting straight through him and out the other end. Blood flew out of the beetle's read as he fell to the ground in defeat.

Houka and Tatsumaki recovered from the previous damage, rubbing their heads as Koori perked his head up asking, "Is it over?"

That was that. Bugzzy had been defeated and now the Kirbies were back on the road.

Back at the kingdom, everyone had spent and hour cleaning up the corpses of the fallen demons. However, despite having every royal guard helping out, they were only halfway done.

"When will it all end!?" wined a Waddle Doo as a Cappy sighed, "I wish we didn't have to do this every time."

"Stop complaining," Michael said, lifting up another corpse, "The sooner we get this all cleaned up the better."

Melody grimaced and snapped, "Yeah! All of you get back to work or I'll strike you!"

As the other cried in terror, Michael grinned at Melody and said in a sarcastic tone, "Oh yeah, you're a MUCH better asset than I am," Melody fuming at the head.

Suddenly, one of the Dees looked up and noticed a stranger walking into town. Everyone else stared as an odd figure approached them. This strange being didn't seem to have a body, however, he had a pair of eyes, a red robe and gloves along with a magician's hat. He was also carrying a wand.

"Excuse me," Michael asked, "but are you lost?"

"No, I'm not," the being said, "I am here to meet with the king and queen. My name is Wiz."

Upon hearing that, the guards snickered before breaking out into hysterics. The stranger sighed and said, "Not Wizz, Wiz, with one Z!"

Michael sighed and thought, 'They're so immature,' then noticed that Melody found the name amusing as well and thought, 'Yep, immature.'

Wiz noticed all the bodies and said, "I notice that you seem to be having a bit of a cleaning problem, no?"

"Don't remind us!" snapped one of the Cappies, "We've been at this for over an hour now!"

Wiz rubbed his non-existent chin and said, "I may have just the solution."

With that said, the being took off his hat, revealing that he really did have no head, and tapped on it with his wand saying, "Fit as a fiddle and quick as a bat! Gaze upon the power of my magical hat!"

He proceeded to point it forward as wind started to enter it at an incredible pace. The guards all started to panic until they noticed that the wind was only picking up the demon corpses.

While the entire town was being cleaned up, Wiz started to twirl his wand around singing an incantation that went a little something like this:

"Hakitis makitis mareth emerth, ekkel and enker and aker and nerth! Do not worry, do not fret, this magic spell is not a threat. Hokkitus grokkitus nokkitus wind, heracus geracus neracus in! Watch the demons disappear, it's not as evil as it appears!"

While Wiz continued to spout more magical chants, the dead demon bodies traveled into the hat until soon enough, they were all gone as Wiz placed the hat back on his head and said, "So you see, you needn't fear. You're all safe long as I'm here."

All was silent throughout the town for a while. The Dees all stared at one-another while the Cappies scratched their heads. The Doos had no idea what to say to this.

However, the silence broke when Michael started to clap his hands shouting, "Bravo, Mister Wiz! Bravo!" Melody folding her arms and grumbling, "I could have done better than that."

However, despite her not being impressed, everyone else joined Michael in applauding the strange guest. No one knew where Wiz had come from, but one thing was for certain: He was a god-send.

"You said you wanted to see the king, right?" Michael asked as Wiz nodded and asked, "May I see him?"

Michael grinned and said, "Well, I do work at the castle. I can give the king a good word. I'm sure he'll be glad to see you."

While everyone else rested, Spencer and Metaknight were in another room for training. Today was the day Spencer would learn how to fight without relying on luck.

As they entered a room secluded from the other swordsman in the sword training facility, Metaknight looked at all the pictures of Dedede with a look of anger in his eyes. This sparked Spencer's curiosity. For some unknown reason, Metaknight had been doing that frequently since he returned.

"Hey, Metaknight," Spencer said as the man turned to him and asked, "Yes? What is it?"

"I noticed that you've been looking at Dedede's portraits with a look of hate," the boy replied, "Why would you look at the picture of a hero like that? If I'm not mistaken, he helped you in the battle with Nightmare."

"He's not a hero," Metaknight said coldly as Spencer's eyes went wide. Just what did Metaknight mean?


	7. Chapter 7

Land of Kirby

Note: Hadouken is actually one of Fighter Kirby's attacks in the games.

Spencer stared at Metaknight strangely, completely silent. What did the knight mean? How was King Dedede not a hero? He had helped defeat Nightmare, hadn't he? Why would Metaknight say such a thing?

Metaknight looked at Spencer and sighed, "I should have kept my mouth shut. I promised myself I wouldn't tell anyone this story."

"What story?" Spencer remarked, "What do you mean?"

The knight looked over at Spencer, let out another sigh and said, "Alright, I'll tell you, but it might upset you."

"You see, before Nightmare attacked Pupupuland, Dedede was a tyrant. He would find ways to torment his subjects each and every day. There was never a moment's peace with him around as he was a bully to his subjects. If it weren't for the fact that Pupupuland was run under communist law, the people could have run Dedede out long ago. I worked for him in secret, trying to prevent some of his plans from working. His worst hobby was walking into the forest and paying demons to attack people and scare them."

Spencer's eyes went wide at the sound of that last part. How could anyone be that cruel? Why would anyone make such a childish deal with demons, anyway?

"The reason I pretended for work for him was because I had nowhere else to live. I couldn't afford a home so I offered my services in exchange for residence in his castle. Most of his pranks were harmless in my eyes, so I'd try to stop them without being caught. However, whenever he called upon demons to bully people, that was when I always had to get involved. I didn't care if he spotted me or not. The thing is, one cannot count on demons to just bully people. Had I not done anything to stop them, they would have slaughtered each and every Cappy, Waddle Dee and Doo residing there. However, one day, the horrible monster Nightmare appeared, bent on destroying Pupupuland as it was where most demons had been slain."

"So, are you saying Dedede didn't help in that battle?" Spencer asked as Metaknight shook his head and said, "Dedede did help, but not for a reason to be remembered for."

"See, Dedede knew he wasn't popular in the eyes of others. As such, he decided to take a stand against Nightmare to leave everyone with one good thing to remember him for. However, the battle was over in a matter of seconds. Nightmare sent a dark blade through the king's heart, ending his rein before he could even lift his mallet. Once that was over, Nightmare summoned a meteor to destroy Popstar. I knew I had to buy everyone some time to escape, so I fought Nightmare myself. It was a fierce battle, one that I knew I couldn't win. Luckily, I managed to injure Nightmare enough for me to make my escape while he went down with the planet."

Spencer stared at the knight with disbelief. Metaknight was the real hero, not Dedede.

"By the way, Spencer," the knight said, giving the boy a stern look, "Don't breathe a word of this to anyone. It's better to keep them with the illusion that Dedede was a good king. It makes them happy, and to tell this story would only destroy that."

Spencer nodded in understanding as the man took out his sword and asked, "So, shall we start training now?"

Meanwhile, horns could be heard outside of the castle. This always meant that there was a special guest.

Memu's eyes went wide as she said, "Honey, are we expecting any special guests today?"

"Why I don't think so," Parm replied as the two shrugged and stopped their ping-pong game with a couple of the castle guards.

A red carpet was spread out in front of the castle as the doors opened, Fumu coming out to greet the special guest. Sure, she didn't fully understand what was going on either, but it was her job to greet special guests. She was the princess, after all.

Wiz started to drift across the carpet, waving to the public as he stopped in front of the princess, taking her hand and kneeling down to give her a kiss with his non-existent mouth. Fumu just blinked, rather confused by this guest's appearance. Nevertheless, she had to be polite, so she took a bow and said, "Welcome to our fair kingdom, Mister... uh..."

"Wiz," the magician replied as Fumu started to snicker, biting her lip and trying her hardest not to laugh, Wiz narrowing his eyes as he said, "That's Wiz with one Z."

"My humblest apologies," Fumu replied as Wiz shrugged and said, "Hey, a princess shouldn't have to apologize."

At that exact moment, Memu and Parm stepped out of the castle as Memu glared at her husband who shrugged, a grin on his face. Hey, it wasn't his fault he was late.

"Oh, your royal majesty and highness!" Wiz exclaimed as he took a bow, taking off his magician's hat and holding it down, as was common with most gentleman.

Fumu looked at her parents and said, "This is our special guest, Wiz with one Z."

Memu blushed when the wizard took her hand and implied giving her a kiss even though he couldn't. Parm would have been jealous had it actually been in his nature, but of course it wasn't.

"Well, what brings you here, Sir Wiz?" the king asked as the magician pulled a small parchment out from under his hat and said, "I would like to apply for a job as the royal magician. I heard the spot was open. I hope everything's to your liking."

With that, he handed the king the piece of paper, which was actually a resume. The magician's eyes went wide as he said, "Oh, I almost forgot the most important addition. Silly me."

That said, he pulled out another piece of parchment from his hat, this one with much more writing on it and handed it to the queen. This was his cover letter, something that wasn't always required when applying for a job.

The two looked over the papers as Parm nodded and said, "Well, you do seem fit for the job," as Memu asked, "Can you really make demons appear from your hat."

"Would you like a demonstration?" the wizard asked as Fumu lowered his eyelids and snapped, "Hey, you can't summon demons here!"

Wiz chuckled and replied, "I assure you, fair princess, my demons are under my control. They will most certainly not attack you as I would not allow it."

Memu and Parm both clapped as Fumu looked at the stranger suspiciously. She just didn't trust a man who could control demons.

Wiz pulled off his hat and tapped it three times with his wand as he said, "Smaller than a wolf but more threatening than a bull! Many different demons, of that I am full!"

With that, a group of small winged creatures called Bronto Burt flew out of his hat as he started to sing a magical chant. Those watching watched in true amazement as the Burts flew around in a circular formation, performing all kinds of aerial formations. Then, to top it all off, a small phoenix flew out of the hat and flew in between them, shooting fire into the sky before Wiz could return the demons to his hat, the hat pulling them in with a strong wind current.

Memu and Parm both applauded the man with much admiration as Fumu looked at them and groaned. That was the problem with her parents. Her father was easily amused and her mother was only slightly better.

"Well, it is my pleasure to say that you are more than qualified to be this kingdom's magician!" Parm explained, "Your job will be to perform a magic act every day during dinner! It'll be a spectacular show for everyone!"

"Oh, you are too kind, your highness," Wiz replied with another bow as Memu turned to Fumu and asked, "Would you show our new Magician his room?"

Fumu let out a sigh and nodded, saying, "Yes, mom."

With that, she took a hold of Wiz's hand, which separated from the magician's body as she pulled it. The princess looked at it and screamed as Wiz broke out into hysterics, waving his wand and bringing the hand back to him. Fumu gritted her teeth and grumbled curses under her breath as she led the wizard into the castle. This Wiz was already a pain in her side.

All the while, Melanie was pacing back and forth in her room talking to herself. She then stood in front of a mirror and said, "Sir Metaknight, would you kindly accept a date with yours truly?"

She then blinked and sighed, "That's lame," then paced some more before looking into the mirror again saying, "Metaknight, you are a very handsome young... oh god, who am I kidding?"

The girl sighed, figuring that she'd never summon the courage to ask him out. Besides, even if she did, why would he accept? She was nothing more than a commoner only living in the castle for bad reasons.

Her thoughts ended when she heard something knocking on her door, slowly getting up and walking over before opening it. She was a bit surprised to see Motoko standing there.

"What are you doing here?" the green Hammer Kirby asked as the ninja woman smiled and said, "I know that you're interested in Metaknight, but he's a busy man. You can't expect him to just go on a date with you."

"Oh, I know," Melanie sighed, "I just wish there was a way to get him to notice me."

"Yes," Motoko replied, "Your situation is complicated. You're too nervous to just admit your feelings, and even if you did, Metaknight's not the kind to be won over so easily."

Melanie sighed as Motoko pondered the situation, then her eyes went wide as she stated, "Maybe you can prove your worth, you know, show him the best of your talents."

The green female smiled and nodded saying, "I know what I must do. Thank you, Motoko."

The ninja woman smiled and nodded as Melanie headed out of the room. Motoko, having no further business here, decided to head back to her own room and train some more.

The answer was so simple. All Melanie had to do was prove herself useful. As such, she headed to the gym where the castle's fighters were training, Flint receiving private training from Joe in the back room, and walked toward the five other Fighter Kirbies. Since cleanup was done and the fighters had rested up from the battle, it was back to training for them.

"Oh, you're Melanie, right?" Sam asked upon noticing her approaching as Melanie nodded and said, "Look, I know this a gym specifically for Fighter Kirbies, but is there any way I can possibly get training for my abilities with a hammer here?"

Michael thought about this and said, "I think Master Joe does allow it, but you may wanna ask him first. No one's allowed to just join the fighters without consulting him."

"Thank you," Melanie said with a bow as she decided to wait outside the back room. While this went on, Basil's stomach growled as he groaned, "When's dinner gonna be ready!? I'm starving!" Melody smacking him over the head and retorting, "Be patient!"

Meanwhile, Joe had directed Flint through the basics of fighting, all of which Flint seemed to excel at. However, Flint didn't feel he'd accomplished anything despite the praise Joe had given him. He hadn't learned a single one of the trainer's moves and he really wanted to.

"I wish I could use that Roundhouse of yours," he said as Joe let out a sigh and explained, "Look, Flint, fighting isn't always about using energy attacks. Knowing the basics is a good first step. I'm sure that in time, you'll master one of my techniques. After all, you have the right amount of devotion for it."

Flint's eyes sparkled when he heard that as he nodded and said, "Thank you, master."

Joe's eyes darted back and forth as he said, "You know, there's one technique of mine that no one else has ever been able to master. I'd be one happy fighter if at least someone could learn that move from me."

"What attack is that?" the orange fighter asked as Joe grinned and said, "I don't normally do this, but I see more promise in you than most others."

With that, the fighter cupped his hands together as a ball of energy formed. He then looked at a stone statue he'd placed in the room for target practice and shouted, "HADOUKEN!!!!!" firing a ball of energy from his hands into the statue, breaking it into tiny pieces.

Flint's eyes went wide, his jaw dropped as Joe wiped some sweat off of his forehead, letting out a deep breath saying, "I haven't done that in a while."

Flint simply blinked and asked, "Why do you keep that move bottled up like that?" as Joe folded his arms and explained, "It takes a lot of energy to use it. I usually use it as a last minute resort against the mightiest of demons."

That didn't explain why Joe hadn't used it against Masher, but nevertheless, Flint was truly impressed. There was an attack he knew he couldn't learn, but it was still a sight to behold.

And with that, training had ended for the day as Joe and Flint exited the back room, both noticing Melanie standing there as Flint blinked and asked, "What are you doing here?"

Melanie simply pushed the boy to the side, Flint scowling as she bowed to Joe and asked, "Knuckle Joe, sir, may I train here?"

Flint's eyes went wide at the sound of this as Joe rubbed his finger up against his non-existent nose and replied, "You're a Hammer Kirby, aren't you?"

"Yes," the girl replied, "I know your gym is mainly for fighters, but I don't know who else to turn to. You're more of an expert on direct attacks."

Joe pondered this further as he looked up at the ceiling briefly. The kid let out a sigh and said, "Alright, I'll let you train here, but try not to get in the way."

Melanie smiled and bowed to the trainer saying, "Thank you so much, Joe!" before exiting the gym, Flint staring at her with a confused look.

Metaknight and Spencer had been training for the last little while. At this moment, a small practice duel between the two of them had ended. Spencer was breathing heavily while Metaknight looked like he hadn't broken a sweat.

"It's no wonder you're considered the best!" Spencer groaned as Metaknight chuckled and sat down saying, "You're skills have improved quite a bit, but you still have a long way to go. I'm afraid you're not yet ready to learn the secret to mastering the Sword Beam."

Spencer let out a sigh as Metaknight patted him on the head and said, "Let's end training for today. Dinner will be ready in less than ten minutes."

And as the knight had predicted, dinner was ready nine minutes later. Everyone sat at the table as Basil stared at his dinner tray, wanting so badly to eat what the dome-shaped lid was hiding.

Before dinner could start, though, Parm gave his daughter a light nudge as Fumu sighed, rising to her feet and saying, "Everyone, we have a newcomer working at the castle as our magician. He's going to perform for you some pre-dinner entertainment."

Basil's eyes went wide as he wanted so badly to object to this, but Jason held his mouth closed and hushed the boy. After all, it was against the rules to interrupt royalty, even if Parm was a pushover.

Melanie looked around when Spencer sat next to her and whispered, "Where's Metaknight," as Spencer pointed to a seat next to Memu where Metaknight sat. Being the town hero, he was allowed to sit next to royalty.

Joe had a seat next to Parm as Flint sighed and thought, 'Some masters of fighting get all the luck,' wishing ever so much to sit next to Fumu. Despite the recent events and distractions, he had not yet given up on his goal to get the princess to go on a date with him. Of course, Melanie wished she was sitting next to Metaknight, but unlike Flint, she had the patience and understanding to deal with it.

Much to Spencer's surprise, Motoko had actually shown up for dinner. He and the others hadn't been seeing much of her lately.

"Without further ado, for your viewing pleasure," Fumu said while faking enthusiasm, "I present the great Wiz with one Z and not two!"

Michael and Melody along with the Dees, Doos and Cappies all clapped as a cloud of smoke appeared, clearing up to reveal a magician underneath. Spencer, Flint, Melanie and Joe all stared at him with wide eyes. The magician only had eyes and clothing, no body of any sort. Jason and Sam stared at the man with suspicion as Basil let down a teardrop, wondering if he'd ever get his precious food. Metaknight also had a look of suspicion.

Wiz took off his hat to the others and bowed, tapping his wand five times against the hat saying, "All of you watch and be amazed! I am going to set your senses ablaze!"

With that, everyone stared in amazement as a set of white doves flew from his hat, coming together in the air to form a winged cat. The people watched the cat fly around before diverting their attention towards a ball that popped up out of the hat. Wiz proceeded to wave his wand as the ball burst open, confetti flying out while the people clapped, Basil being the only one not watching as his stomach growled.

The confetti then flew into the air and started to swirl around, forming a tornado made entirely out of the papery material. The winged cat started to circle around the tornado as Wiz held his hat in the eye of the confetti twister, a gust of wind shooting up from within. Now the tornado was a real tornado.

The people gasped until they realized that Wiz had full control over the wind, ensuring that it wouldn't engulf them. However, it did managed to capture the cat as its body split up and the cat reverted to the form of the doves that had made it in the first place.

Everyone around the table except for Basil and Fumu cheered. The princess was disgusted at the sight of even Metaknight applauding this while laughing. Despite his serious attitude, Metaknight was certainly capable of enjoying himself. It was as the old saying went: You're never too old for fun.

Soon enough, Wiz's hat inhaled the wind sucking in the confetti but leaving the doves as he pulled a cage out of his hat, containing the birds within them and magically sending the cage over to Parm saying, "Consider this a gift, one of caring. As you can see, I don't mind sharing."

The applause for Wiz got even louder as Parm rubbed his finger playfully against one of the dove's heads and said, "Smashing performance, Mister Wiz!"

Fumu folded her arms with disgust. Everyone was buying into this man's act way too easily. Even the most serious of people were falling for his charm.

She then let out a sigh. Perhaps she was jumping to assumptions. Surely, Wiz couldn't possibly be a bad guy, could he? All he did was apply for a job as the royal magician, nothing more, and so far he hadn't harmed a soul.

"Wow, that was cool," Melanie said with a grin as Flint laughed and said, "I can't believe we get to see more like this every day! I love this guy!"

Spencer smiled and nodded in agreement. Growing up, he'd never really seen any sort of performance before, not even a play, so this was a very special occasion for him.

Basil raised his hand and asked, "Can we eat now?" as Memu nodded and said, "Everybody dig in!"

But as everyone lifted up the lids to their trays, they noticed that the plates were empty. They gasped as Basil looked to the heavens and shouted, "NOOOOOOOO!!!!!" Michael smacking the back of his head saying, "Stop being a drama queen," Basil saying, "You mean drama KING!" Michael smacking him again.

Wiz chuckled as he waved his wand around and pulled off his hat saying, "Hungry stomachs, growl no more. You'll be happier, that I'm sure."

With that, all kinds of fancy meals popped out of the hat dancing around the table before landing on everyone's plate while Wiz sang the following:

"Garrikus marrikus larrikus hun, grakkity wakkity pakkity mun. Sit down and just wait and see, soon your food will come to thee. Jarridus marridus harridus mak, greska deska oridak. As you see, you're food's here. I don't believe it went anywhere."

Soon enough, everyone was served as they applauded the man some more, Basil letting down tears shouting, "BRAVO!!!!!" while the other fighters sighed, embarrassed to be associated with him.

Wiz bowed to the others, pulling a seat out of his hat and sitting down to join the others for dinner saying, "As you can see, your food is served. You've all gotten what you deserve."

Fumu stuck her fork into a small piece of roast duck and smiled, taking a small bite of it. Perhaps she was wrong to ever doubt the magician.


	8. Chapter 8

Land of Kirby

Night had come to the kingdom of New Pupupuland and everyone was fast asleep in their beds. Had it not been for clocks, it would have been impossible to tell on a planet like Dark Star when the sky was always full of clouds.

All were sound asleep, including Wiz who had basically tucked himself inside of his magical hat, using it as his bed. But wait, perhaps not everyone was asleep.

Just like the night before, Motoko was up and walking around the castle. Nothing would ruin her plans tonight. What they were was anyone's guess. Did she mean well or did she mean harm?

As the ninja woman walked down the halls, not making the slightest hint of noise with her feet, she felt a familiar presence. The violet Kirby's eyes narrowed and darted back and forth, and soon she saw it, the silhouette of another crawling on the ceiling. It was hard to make out due to all the lights being off, but there was still enough light.

Motoko also knew who this figure was. With that, she narrowed her eyes and hurled a dagger up towards him as he quickly flipped his body around, now standing upside down on the ceiling as he grabbed the danger and pulled out three of his own, tossing all four sharp objects at the ninja.

Motoko's eyes went wide as he quickly leapt to the side, the black-clad ninja with the ponytail leaping down from his position and pulling out his blade saying, "It seems you didn't learn your lesson, amateur."

"I did," Motoko replied, her eyes narrowing, "You were right. I am just a beginner. However, I have been studying and training hard so I can defeat you."

"Is that so?" asked the man as Motoko nodded with a smile and said, "I'd look up if I were you."

The male darted his eyes upward, but it was too late as a spider net fell on him, trapping him in place. How had Motoko done that? She didn't even have time to set up a spider net like that.

"As you see, I've learned quite a few tricks," the girl said as he leapt towards the male, her leg out for a kick. However, the man simply narrowed his eyes and quickly pulled out his blade, cutting the net open and putting a small slice in the ninja woman's foot.

Motoko winced as she land hard on her back, her foot now bleeding. However, ninjas often taught themselves to deal with pain, so the Ninja Kirby let out a deep breath, ignoring the cut on her foot and standing back up. The male was now growing impatient. This woman was persistent.

"I'll admit, that was pretty impressive for the novice," the male ninja stated, "Not only did you catch me by surprise, but you attempted to hit me, knowing I had the means to escape. But you are still only an amateur."

Motoko bit her lip to prevent herself from screaming. She had been so certain that plan of hers would work, and yet the male continued to fight.

Her eyes then went wide when the man whipped his hand out then pulled it back, Motoko falling on her back. What kind of sorcery was this? He hadn't even done anything to her. At least that's what she thought before she spotted a tiny, almost unnoticeable string tied to her foot. Before she could even respond, the male ran toward her with his blade out and leapt into the air, the blade pointed toward her heart.

"It's been amusing," the male ninja said, "but I think it's time I exterminate a pest."

He was only moments away from striking her when something struck him in the side of the face, a segment of the ninja's mask torn and blood dripping down the cut as he flew towards a wall, barely saving himself by latching his hands and feet to the wall. His eyes were wide with fury as he turned his gaze and saw a dark and mysterious figure standing there with his sword out.

"So, Yamikage..." the man said with a grimace, "you actually dared to show your face again, you traitor."

Motoko's eyes went wide when she saw Metaknight standing right there. What was even more amazing was that the small bit of blood his sword had picked up from that last strike had vanished almost instantly.

The male ninja, known as Yamikage, narrowed his eyes as he asked, "Why are you here, Metaknight? I heard that you left the kingdom to join the star soldier alliance."

"They gave me a holiday," the knight replied as he pointed his blade at the ninja asking, "What reason do you have for showing your face here again?"

All was silent as Yamikage stood still, his body twitching with anger at the sight of Metaknight. Metaknight continued to hold his sword out, eyes narrowing. Motoko, however, could do nothing but watch. This was all so confusing.

"It's none of your business," Yamikage stated as he lifted his arm up before bringing it downward, a cloud of smoke appearing. The smoke vanished and soon enough, Yamikage was gone.

"Damn!" Metaknight cursed in frustration, "He got away from me again!"

Motoko blinked, stared at Metaknight and asked, "Excuse me, but can you tell me what's going on? How do you know that ninja?"

Metaknight let out a sigh and held his cape over his face in a Dracula-like fashion saying, "That man is a traitor to the kingdom. He used to be a star soldier."

Motoko's eyes went wide at the sound of this as she proceeded to ask, "Since when were ninjas star soldiers? I thought they only stuck with their own kind?"

Metaknight looked at the woman and helped her back to her feet as he explained, "Textbooks would tell you otherwise, but there was a time when ninjas served the star soldier army."

Motoko couldn't believe what she was hearing. Growing up, she'd always been told that star soldiers and ninjas had never worked together, that ninjas refused help from others. But hearing this from Metaknight: How could she doubt this? After all, Metaknight had been a member of the star soldier army for years. If anyone knew anything about the star soldiers, it was him.

"It was ten years ago," Metaknight said with a sigh, "You see, at that time, the ninjas had realized that they alone couldn't possibly defeat the demon beasts. They turned to us, requesting our services, so we agreed to make them a part of our army."

"The leader of the ninjas was Yamikage, a true master of the art. He possessed every ninja skill in existence and no one could defeat him no matter how hard they tried. I was asked to meet with him and accept him as a member of the star soldier army. I was happy to have him as an ally and a friend."

"So what happened?" Motoko asked, "Why is he bad now?"

Metaknight let out a sigh and continued:

"One day, the ninjas revolted against us after two years of cooperation, and who should lead the attack than Yamikage, the leader of the ninja clan. He and I squared off in battle and in the end, it was a draw. Before Yamikage called off his ninjas and fled from the kingdom, he looked me in the eyes and told me that he wanted power. He and the ninjas didn't like being ordered around, so he thought it would be better if they had control over the kingdom."

Motoko's eyes were wide as she looked down with a look of depression. She had no idea that her own kind had betrayed the very beings who specialized in protecting others.

"I still can't believe that it had come down to that," the knight said with a sigh, "We'd spent two years fighting side-by-side as a team. Yamikage was a great asset to our cause. For him to turn against us like he did..."

Metaknight walked over to a window and looked at the stars saying, "I miss the old days spent with him. It seems I've lost a lot of friends over the past."

With that, the conversation came to a close as Metaknight walked back to his room. Motoko sighed, knowing her plan had been interrupted yet again as she made her way back to her own room. After all, patience was a virtue, especially with ninjas.

Soon, morning came and everyone slowly got out of bed. Everyone assembled in the dining hall except for Wiz and Motoko.

"Once again, Motoko's not here," Melanie whispered, looking around the room as Spencer sighed, "I haven't been seeing her much lately anyway."

However, many were looking back and forth, expecting Wiz to magically appear for breakfast. Everyone was eager to see another performance by him.

However, after five minutes, neither of the two arrived as Perm stood up in his seat and said, "Everyone, enjoy your breakfast."

As everyone lifted up the trays, Wiz sped into the dining hall breathing heavily. Those sitting at the table all stared, rather disappointed by this entrance.

Wiz took a deep breath and shouted, "Everyone! We have an emergency! Something's attacking the kingdom!"

Everyone gasped at the sound of this. Why hadn't the bell been rung? Where was the alarm when this was going on? Nevertheless, they all knew what they had to do as they nodded to one-another, running out of the dining hall toward the castle's exit.

Flint and Basil let down tears shouting, "I just wanted some breakfast!" as Melanie smacked Flint over the back of the head, Michael doing the same to Basil.

Soon enough, all were outside with Metaknight and Knuckle Joe at the front. Their eyes went wide at what they saw. It was an army of demons known as Gordos, black balls with spikes coming out of them. Along with them were small round creatures with sharp teeth and bandages all of them, leaving a small opening for a red eyeball, called Mumbies.

Joe cracked his knuckles with a grin saying, "I was expecting something much more threatening," as Metaknight shook his head replying, "Don't take them lightly. These demons are more powerful than they look."

And so, a large battle broke out, those who couldn't fight hiding inside of their homes. Spencer sent his blade towards one of the Gordos, delivering a powerful strike to its face. However, the Gordo didn't seem to feel any pain from the attack. How was that possible?

Melanie waited for one of the Mumbies to approach her, her hammer held back. The second the Mumbie came in range, she swung her hammer forward smashing it hard into the demon's face and sending it back a ways.

"YES, I GOT HIM!!!!" she shouted, but her eyes soon went wide, her jaw dropped as the mummy-like creature shook off the pain and charged towards her again. How could something so small continue after taking in a hit like that?

Flint delivered a fierce kick to in incoming Gordo only for the spiked ball to narrow its eyes, spikes shooting out of its body, one piercing Flint's left arm. The orange fighter cried in pain and started to lick the bleeding spot, trying to stop the blood while doing his best to keep far away from the Gordo.

What shocked everyone the most was that even Joe and Metaknight were having trouble with this threat. Metaknight sent his blade hard into one of the Gordos, and despite being sent back a bit, it continued its assault, completely unscathed.

Joe sent an onslaught of energy balls from his fists into the Mumbies, but they refused to go down and continued their assault. What was with these creatures? Better yet, why wasn't Wiz out there helping them fight?

At that very moment, the wizard was standing in front of the green door that Motoko and Yamikage had both been fixated on breaking into. But just what was behind that door? Why was it so important?

"This is too perfect," the magician said while laughing, reaching for a door just as a sharp object flew into his hand, piercing it as it stuck to the door, Wiz crying in terror.

Wiz turned his body around, leaving his hand attached to the door and barked, "Who's there!?"

He noticed no one standing behind him as an onslaught of daggers rained down toward him, pinning the rest of his clothes up against the door except for his hat, which fell off of his head and landed in front of him, upside-down on the floor. He looked up as his eyes widened, Motoko standing on the ceiling with a grimace on her face.

"I wanted so desperately to take advantage of that surprise attack," she said as the magician laughed nervously, the ninja leaping off of the ceiling and landing in front of the magician, pulling out a blade and pointing it at his face asking, "Why do you want to break into that room, anyway?"

Wiz blinked, then changed the look on his eyes to the kind normally seen with a wicked smile saying, "You were trying to break into here too, weren't you?"

Motoko's eyes went wide as Wiz's eyes separated themselves from his clothes, floating over to his wand and coming together to pick the magical stick up. They then carried it over to the hat and tapped it three times, a gust of wind coming into the hat and sucking the daggers into it and freeing what Wiz called a body.

The hat let out a light burp as Wiz waved his finger at it saying, "Now, now, hat, say excuse me," then laughed placing it atop his head saying, "That's right, it can't."

Motoko blinked, both amazed and scared as she asked, "Just what exactly are you? Furthermore, you haven't answered my question."

"Oh yeah," Wiz replied slapping his non-existent forehead, "I need a certain something from behind this door, something that holds the key to immortality. You were trying it too, weren't you?"

Motoko's eyes went wide, her jaw dropped as she started to tremble with fear. What was up with this Wiz guy? Even Metaknight, one of the wisest in the kingdom, couldn't figure that out.

The ninja grimaced as Wiz implied a grin with his eyes saying, "You thought I wouldn't catch on? Come on, even I know how hard it is to resist the allure of such amazing power. That's why the king rarely ever mentions its existence to anyone. It's a good thing I possess amazing senses and can feel such things. It's a problem that you have those amazing senses to, just like a ninja would."

Motoko's look of anger turned to a wicked smile as she pulled out a small shuriken star saying, "You're right. That is a problem for you, isn't it?"

Wiz gulped as the ninja hurled the star towards Wiz. The magician wasn't able to react in time as the star latched to his hat, the hat flying off of his head as Motoko quickly leapt towards the magician, kicking him hard in the eyes, Wiz falling to the ground as she used the eyes to propel herself up, grabbing the hat and speeding toward a wall farther away from where Wiz was. While the magician tried his best to recover from the attack, the ninja pulled out a series of daggers, placing the hat's bottom up against the wall and forcing the daggers into the rim around the hole like nails.

"Now you can't conjure up anything from your precious hat," Motoko said with a wicked grin as Wiz started to panic. He simply knelt down, covering his eyes and letting down tears shouting, "Please, ninja woman, spare my life!"

"I think not," Motoko said as she charged towards him with her sword raised, but while her back was turned to the hat, the daggers shot out of the wall, now facing her back as they pierced through her arms and legs, the ninja girl falling to the floor while blood poured from her body.

The hat then hopped along the ground as Wiz waved his wand, the hat coming back to his hands as he laughed, saying, "As you can see, my magic is far too strong for any ninja skills. As for what I am... well, I'm neither a ghost nor a creature."

"But how is that possible?" Motoko groaned, trying her best to ignore the pain while the magician simply laughed, tapping on his hat, chains flying out of it and tying themselves around the ninja woman, Motoko now trapped.

The ninja woman let down tears with a look of shame. It was one thing for her to lose to a ninja master, but it was another to lose to a magician, a man who lived only to entertain.

Little did either of them know that at this exact moment, Fumu had been watching this whole thing from the entrance to this particular area. She gritted her teeth with a look of anger thinking, 'I KNEW that Wiz couldn't be trusted.'

Motoko's eyes went wide when she saw the princess slowly walking toward Wiz, whose back was turned to the entrance, and started to struggle against the chains. She knew there was no way Fumu could stand up to such a powerful wizard and if anything happened to her, Motoko could very well end up being blamed for it. For all she knew, Wiz could kill Fumu and tell everyone that the she did it.

Wiz saw the ninja struggling and laughed, waving his wand as the grip on her tightened, saying, "Before I kill you, I may as well tell someone that I was the one who summoned the group of demons outside. I'm quite proud of that, but you know, if word went out, I could be banished."

Just as he said this, his eyes went wide when he felt his hat taken off of his non-existent head. He rose his hands to feel around for his hat to make sure it was still on his head only to discover that his wand was missing too. He quickly turned around as his eyes widened, the magician seeing Fumu with his precious hat and wand.

Wiz's look of shock turned to one of content as he floated towards the girl, who started to back away from him, and said, "Princess, if you know what's good for you, you'll give me back what's mine."

"I think not," Fumu said as she tapped the wand three times against the hat, grinning playfully as a small cat head known as a Scarfy emerged.

Wiz laughed nervously and reached his hand out slowly to pet it saying, "Nice Scarfy," as its face soon changed, its body turning into more of a brownish color and its eyes coming together to form a large eyeball, sharp fangs coming from its mouth.

Wiz's eyes went wide as the Scarfy bit into his finger, exploding on impact thus causing his glove to burn to the ground. Wiz started to tremble with fear as he shouted, "STOP!!!! I NEED MY MAGICIAN'S GEAR IN ORDER TO LIVE!!!!!!"

Then he blinked and asked, "Wait, how can you do that anyway? My hat and wand only work for magicians."

Fumu tapped the wand against the hat a second time as a small creature with fire on its back known as Hothead came out and explained, "I taught myself magic at a young age with a dream of becoming a world-renowned magician, but my parents didn't approve of it. They said I had to uphold my duties as a princess. If only they could see me now."

Motoko was truly amazed as the Hothead opened its mouth, flames shooting towards Wiz as he quickly blocked the incoming flame with his hand, the second glove burning to the ground. Wiz was now frightened beyond belief. He was at the princess' mercy now.

Wiz bowed his non-existent head and begged, "Please, princess, spare me! I promise I'll never show my face here again!"

Fumu put on a more compassionate look, nodding her head while calmly saying, "I know you won't," tapping on the hat five times as a gust of wind entered it, Wiz's eyes going wide as he found his cloak engulfed by the hat. Motoko's eyes went wide as Wiz's eyes tried their hardest to fight the gust of wind only to enter the hat themselves.

When the article of clothing let out a light burp, magical dust shooting out of it, it was official. Wiz had been removed from the face of the planet and was now doomed for all eternity to spend his life trapped inside of his hat.

Fumu also had the hat suck up Motoko's chains, the ninja girl now free as she got up, a smile on her face as she bowed saying, "Thank you very much, princess."

Fumu smiled and replied, "It was nothing. I'm just glad I got to use magic."

Motoko looked at the girl and sighed with relief. It seemed the princess hadn't been there long enough to hear of the ninja woman's plan to break into the room guarded by the green door. However, something came to mind as she felt an odd presence. Wiz's aura was still emanating throughout the room, but why?

"FUMU!!!" the ninja shouted, "HE'S TRYING TO ESCAPE FROM THE HAT!!!!!"

Fumu's eyes went wide as she started to tremble. How was she supposed to stop him from returning? Even if she sucked him back into the hat, he'd just keep coming back. The princess couldn't keep that up forever.

Then an idea came to her. The princess grinned as she held up the wand one last time and tapped it against the hat before holding it in front. At that moment, a gust of wind traveled into the hat, pulling the wand with it. Motoko was confused by this plan of Fumu's until the top of the hat started to sink inward, soon flattening out and leaving the bottom of the hat now without a hole.

The black circle proceeded to float out of Fumu's hand, the princess watching in amazement as it folded itself in half. After that, it folded itself once again, keeping this up until all that was left was a tiny speck, which vanished in a puff of magic dust.

Motoko smiled and patted the princess on the head and said, "Good job, but let's not tell anyone about this. If they knew Wiz was evil, they'd only be upset."

Fumu nodded in understanding. Motoko was right. This was best left unknown to the public.

Outside of the castle, the battle continued. Spencer did all he could to stop the Gordos while Melanie fought back a number of Mumbies and Flint landed a series of kicks and punches onto the demons. But no matter what they did, the demons hadn't taken in any damage whatsoever. Even Metaknight and Joe were useless in this battle.

But much to everyone's surprise, one of the Gordos' eyes closed as the spiked ball exploded, everyone staring with a confused look. Suddenly, all of the demons started to explode, leaving behind a strange magical dust. How had this happened? Wiz wasn't anywhere to be seen, so certainly that wasn't his doing.

Unbeknownst to them, Wiz had a lot to do with that. Since those were his demons magically conjured up from his hat, they couldn't exist without it, and when the hat vanished, so did the demons.

Back in the throne room, Parm and Memu were feeding their pet doves some bread crumbs when the cage vanished in a puff of magic dust. Their eyes went wide only to get even wider when the doves vanished as well, Parm letting down tears while Memu patted him on the back.

All was silent as Knuckle Joe scratched his head asking, "What just happened?"

Metaknight simply turned to him, shrugged and replied, "At least the demons are gone."

Everyone nodded in agreement. They wouldn't have won that battle, anyway. At this point, it was best not to question it.

Everyone entered the castle, headed back to the dining hall for breakfast, which had fortunately not been spoiled as Motoko and Fumu took their seats, Spencer asking, "Motoko, weren't you sleeping?"

"I woke up just a couple of minutes ago," she replied as Parm asked, "Have you seen Wiz around anywhere? Our doves disappeared for some reason and I want some new ones."

Fumu and Motoko both nodded at one-another as the ninja woman smiled and said, "I caught him earlier. He said he had to return to his home for a family emergency and that he can't risk coming back."

Parm lowered his head with a sigh. Everyone else was disappointed, but in the end they decided to accept it. It wasn't like they could do anything about it.


	9. Chapter 9

Land of Kirby

It was quite a long time ago after Metaknight had met Jecra that he and the soldier were the strongest of partners. They fought every kind of demon together and saved many lives. One night, the two of them were sitting around a campfire, not a care in the world.

"Hey, Metaknight, did you see that!?" Jecra asked while laughing hysterically, "I tell ya, that Box Boxer had no idea what hit him! We're invincible!"

He continued to laugh until he noticed that Metaknight wasn't his usual enthusiastic self. He blinked and poked the side of the knight's head and said, "Hey there, Meta old buddy... anyone home in there?"

Metaknight let out a sigh, pushed his hand to the side and said, "I've just been thinking about all of this."

"What's there to think about?" Jecra replied, blinking, "We've saved many lives. With our help, all the demons in the world will someday be defeated!"

"That's the problem," Metaknight stated while looking down, "The world will always be full of demons. No matter how many we kill, more and more will appear."

Jecra looked at the knight with concern as the man sighed, saying, "I guess what I want to know is whether or not this is all worth it."

Upon hearing this, Jecra stood up and struck Metaknight on the back of the head. The knight's eyes went wide as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Don't question our work!" Jecra snapped, "If the world didn't have heroes like us, there would be no hope! No one would feel safe!"

Metaknight looked up at the man, still rubbing the back of his head. He had nothing to say to that. Jecra had a point. It was thanks to the Star Soldiers that people didn't have a reason to live in fear everyday. Without the Star Soldiers, everyone would submit to the demons. Children wouldn't play and everyone would stay indoors.

Jecra shook his head and sat down next to Metaknight, fiddling with a locket around his neck asking, "Do you know why I became a star soldier?"

The knight turned to him with curiosity as the man grinned and opened up the locket showing a picture of a baby with spiky blond hair saying, "This is what I fight for."

Metaknight looked at the picture with amazement and asked, "You have a son?" Jecra nodding his head saying, "His name's Knuckle Joe. I named him that because he socked me a good one in the jaw shortly after being born."

Metaknight started to snicker as Jecra's eyes narrowed, but soon he ended up joining the knight as that small snicker broke into hysterics. The two laughed all through the night and Metaknight's purpose had been restored. Little did he know that he and Jecra's son would end up allies later on.

In present time, Metaknight let out a sigh while looking out a window and thought, 'Why can't anything in this world last forever?'

He then let out a sigh and decided now would be a good time to train Spencer. After all, he'd agreed to make Spencer into a good swordsman, and he vowed to keep that word.

Flint had been training with Joe for over two hours while Melanie was working hard on her hammer skills. Flint continued to attempt Joe's Roundhouse only to get the same results every time. Joe sighed, disappointed to see a Hammer Kirby making more progress in his gym than a Fighter Kirby, which the gym had been designed for.

"Listen, Flint," Joe said as he placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, "I think maybe Roundhouse just isn't for you. You might wanna consider another move."

Flint lowered his head and sighed. He'd really wanted to learn Roundhouse above all other attacks. This all seemed so unfair to him. However, Joe might have been right. Maybe Flint just couldn't use Roundhouse by nature.

We now take you away from the kingdom for a while to bring you back to four particular Kirbies representing four elements. There was Purazuma the Plasma Kirby, Houka the Fire Kirby, Koori the Ice Kirby and Tatsumaki, the Tornado Kirby. The group had four days left until they reached their destination, but just why were they going to this temple of the elements anyway?

Koori started to tremble as he noticed lightning coming from the clouds. When one bolt sounded from right behind his head, he screamed like a little girl and leapt into Houka's arms, the Fire Kirby sighing and dropping the Ice Kirby to the ground.

"What was that for!?" Koori barked as Houka rolled his eyes and said, "You're being a big baby. It's just a little thunderstorm, that's all."

"You of all Kirbies should be worried about that!" Koori retorted, "Your top's made of FIRE!?"

Houka glared as the two started a slap-fight among one-another, Purazuma looking at the two with concern and Tatsumaki slapping her forehead, embarrassed to be associated with the duo. She was just about to separate the two when a bolt of lightning fell from the sky and landed between Houka and Koori, the two flying away from one-another.

"What in the hell was that!?" Houka spat as Purazuma looked up into the sky with worry on her face saying, "That's not a normal storm cloud."

Tatsumaki narrowed her eyes and gasped when she saw that Purazuma was right when an odd figure emerged from above the clouds. This creature was also a cloud of sorts with a white puffy look, the kind clouds on Dark Star didn't normally have. It also had spikes coming out of its sides along with an eyeball in the center.

"It's a Kracko," Tatsumaki stated, narrowing her eyes.

Purazuma and Koori both held onto one-another while trembling. Krackos were known to be some of the deadliest demons alive. There were two versions of them, a Micro-Kracko and a Mega-Kracko. What they saw was a Mega-Kracko. Micro-Krackos were just eyeballs with tiny spheres circling around them.

When the Kracko launched a lightning bolt down towards Tatsumaki, the girl leaping to the side just in time to dodge it, Koori trembled while asking, "How can we possibly fight something that's all the way up there?"

Purazuma nodded in agreement. What Koori asked was a good question. Kracko was high up in the sky while the Kirbies were on the ground. Even Tatsumaki's twister form wasn't enough to get her up there.

"I've got an idea," Tatsumaki said with a grin, "The only one here whose attacks can reach that high is Purazuma, but only her Plasma Arrow, nothing else."

Purazuma nodded in understanding as the Tornado Kirby added, "The rest of us will distract Kracko while Purazuma prepares her attack, alright?"

Houka folded his arms, grumbling curses as Koori simply nodded, giving Tatsumaki an army salute. There was nothing Houka hated more than taking orders, but he knew this was the only strategy that would work.

With that, Tatsumaki gave the two a signal as Houka and Koori blew their ice and fire breath into the air at the same time. While it wasn't nearly enough to reach the Kracko, the two elements were enough to create steam that shot up into the air and made its way in front of Kracko's eye. However, there wasn't enough to completely blind Kracko.

With that in mind, Tatsumaki spun herself around until she took the form of a tornado, leaping towards the steam and combining it with her twister. The steam gathered more power and shot up into the sky, surrounding Kracko's body thus preventing the cloud from seeing.

While this went on, Purazuma rubbed her feet rapidly against the ground, building up electricity. This plan had to work at all cost.

However, Kracko was far too angry by this turn of events. It started to fume as its spikes started to release powerful lightning bolts, the lightning soared down towards Tatsumaki and heading straight into her twister, a shock going down the Tornado Kirby's spine.

Since the tornado had been merged with Koori and Houka's powers, the two also took in the bolts of lightning as they cried out in pain. Purazuma finally reached enough power and unleashed her Plasma Arrow into the sky, however, with Kracko's vision back, he was easily able to dodge to the side.

"NO!!!!!" the Plasma Kirby cried as she knelt down, slamming her stubby arm into the ground shouting, "I FAILED THEM!!!!!!"

With that, Kracko send a surge of lightning towards her, but much to the cloud's shock, the lightning traveled into the plasma atop Purazuma's head. Purazuma looked up when she felt an intense surge of power flowing through her, a grin forming across her face as her eyes turned white, the girl laughing maniacally.

Kracko stared in horror, eyeball widening, as Purazuma unleashed a huge burst of electricity into the sky. Kracko was too frightened to respond as the lightning hit it square in the eye, the fluff surrounding its body vanishing as its eye changed to a giant letter X, steam coming from it as it fell to the ground with a splat.

Tatsumaki slowly recovered, shaking the pain off of her head as Purazuma returned to her normal state, the electrical charge now used up. Houka and Koori soon got up as well, their eyes widening at the sight of a fried squished eyeball before them.

"Ew!" Koori groaned as Tatsumaki smiled at Purazuma and asked, "Did you do that?"

Purazuma blinked and tilted her head to the side asking, "Did I?" while Tatsumaki and Koori both patted her on the shoulder, Houka glaring with envy. He'd never gotten that kind of respect from them.

Metaknight and Spencer had been training for about an hour and now the boy was exhausted. He simply let out a sigh and asked, "Can we call it a day, Metaknight Sir?"

The knight looked over at Spencer and shook his head saying, "We need to see the results of your training first."

Spencer groaned as he slowly got to his feet, pulling his sword out. Couldn't Metaknight have at least given him a half-hour to rest? Well, unbeknownst to the boy, there was a reason Metaknight hadn't given him a break. The man was testing his fighting spirit. If Spencer could put up a descent fight after an hour of training, he would be more than ready to face demons on his own.

Before Spencer could even catch one last bit of breath, Metaknight charged at him with his sword held back. The yellow Sword Kirby quickly thrust his sword out in front of his face, blocking the incoming slash. Metaknight smiled under his mask at the sight of this. Despite his exhaustion, Spencer had successfully blocked the attack.

The sparring duel went on for over twenty minutes. Just like yesterday, Metaknight had pretty much dominated the fight, but Spencer had blocked a few tricky strikes. It was slow, but the boy had improved.

Metaknight let out a sigh as Spencer plopped down on the floor, breathing heavily. The knight shook his head and sat next to the boy saying, "Spencer, you have certainly improved. I predict that you'll be using the Sword Beam in about two weeks."

Spencer's eyes sparkled at the sound of that. Two weeks? That wasn't too long. And besides, to get praise from a man like Metaknight was a high honor even if Metaknight wasn't really the type to insult anyone.

The knight continued to glare at the portraits of Dedede. He'd have taken them down if it were up to him, but unfortunately, it wasn't. He wasn't the one to decide the law of the kingdom.

He decided to ignore this as he looked over at Spencer and said, "You know, I've heard that there's a demon in the forest that's been worrying people quite a bit. It stopped our last fruit shipment, if I'm not mistaken."

Spencer looked up then turned to the knight and asked, "Why are you bringing this up?" as the knight placed a hand on the boy's shoulder saying, "You're going to kill it."

Spencer's eyes went wide at the sound of this. Him, fight a demon on his own? Had the knight lost his mind?

Metaknight saw the unsure expression and smiled under his mask saying, "I think you're more than ready for it."

"But what if I get killed!?" Spencer retorted as Metaknight patting him on the head saying, "Don't worry about it. If you get into too much trouble, I'll bail you out."

Spencer let out a sigh of relief as Metaknight shook his head and replied, "Know this, Spencer. It would be better if you could defeat it on your own. There may come a time when you have to battle a demon by yourself with no help for miles."

Spencer didn't need to hear anymore. He simply nodded in understanding. Now he understood what this was all about. This was a test to see if he was strong enough to defend himself. But one question remained: What kind of demon was Metaknight making him face? Was this thing going to be far too dangerous for even the masked knight?

Meanwhile, many watched as Knuckle Joe was about to have a sparring fight with one of the students. See, every Wednesday, Joe would select a fighter to match blows with, to test that one fighter's strength. Due to all the students, he hadn't yet sparred with everyone.

Joe simply folded his arms and looked at the fighters, rubbing his invisible nostrils and sniffing while saying, "Alright, let's see who I should utterly destroy this week."

"Is he always this smug on sparring day?" Melanie whispered to Michael who nodded and replied, "It's part of the reason half of the fighters would rather die than spar with him."

Joe looked around at all the fighters and pointed his finger at Melanie saying, "I pick you, newcomer!"

Melanie blinked as Michael patted her on the back and said, "Good luck."

However, Melanie wasn't the least bit scared or worried. If anything, she was full of confidence. She wanted more than ever to be the first student to defeat Knuckle Joe in battle, even if it was just practice.

Melody folded her arms with an angry expression on her face asking, "When will he pick me again!?" as Jason laughed and patted her on the bat stating, "You're just mad because he made you look like an idiot when you fought him."

Melody simply put on a smug grin, folding her arms and saying, "At least I didn't go down in one blow," Jason lowering his head with tears running down his face.

As a matter of fact, all five of the original Fighter Kirbies had gone up against Joe, each suffering a terrible defeat. The only one of them who had come close to winning was Sam, but even she couldn't match blows with him and Joe wasn't even an adult yet.

Melanie held her hammer back as Joe charged towards her, his fist held back as well. As the two closed in on one-another, Melanie threw her hammer forward as Joe did the same with his fist. Both collided with one-another, Melanie's eyes going wide as Joe's fist put a crack in the hammer. Soon, the crack spread across the mallet as it broke into many small pieces, everyone staring in shock.

"OH NO, THIS IS AWFUL!!!!!" Flint spat as everyone stared strangely at him, "I respect you, Joe, but that's just going too far! What's a Hammer Kirby without a hammer!? It's like a Fighter Kirby without his hands and feet!!"

The boy breathed heavily as Michael patted him on the back, Melanie letting out a sigh and turning to him saying, "It's okay, Flint. I can just make myself a new one. After all, I hand-crafted my original hammer, remember?"

Flint blinked and looked around at everyone and lowered his head, a sweat drop going down his face. Joe tapped his foot and sighed as Melanie turned back to him and charged towards him, punching the kid hard in the side of his face.

Joe's eyes went wide as everyone gasped. Had the girl just done what everyone thought she did? She had landed a punch on Knuckle Joe. Sure, he'd taken in a few kicks from his pupils, even a few energy attacks from his five top students, but never a regular punch. Kirbies generally had too small of arms for that.

Joe rubbed the side of his face and narrowed his eyes saying, "You asked for it," as he threw his fist forward shouting, "SMASH PUNCH!!!!!" sending an energy ball hard into the girl's face, Melanie stumbling back a bit with X's in her eyes.

Joe proceeded to his her with a Spin Kick as she rolled back a ways, too weak to continue as she held up her hand, weakly letting out the words, "I surrender..."

Joe blinked as he ran over to her and exclaimed, "Oh god, I went overboard again!" as the others sighed. Joe was a good trainer, but he was a poor sport when it came to sparring.

All the while, Metaknight and Spencer had ventured off into the forest. The two had been walking for ten minutes as they started to enter the deepest parts. Spencer felt very nervous about this, but the knight assured him that he would be safe.

Spencer's eyes went wide as he heard rustling in the bushes. He looked back and forth and started to panic when a small dog-like head with long arms and sharp claws leapt at him.

'Just as I suspected,' Metaknight thought as Spencer quickly whipped out his sword blocking the claws, 'It's a Gao-Gao. This should be easy enough, even for a beginner like Spencer.'

Spencer fought hard against the Gao-Gao's claws but ended up being overpowered as he flew back-first into a tree. He got up, rubbing his head as the demon charged towards him, flailing its claws around like a madman.

"Don't take that from him!" Metaknight shouted, leaping into a tree for safety, "He hit you first! Why don't you hit him back?"

A confident smile replaced Spencer's scared look as the boy nodded, holding his sword back just as Gao-Gao closed in, slashing the sword forward and putting a cut across the canine's chest. The Gao-Gao cried out in pain as it backed up, holding onto its wound with a grimace.

Spencer stood there with a shocked expression as he thought, 'Did I just do that?' while Metaknight noticed the Gao-Gao shaking off the pain and charging toward the boy for more and snapped, "Don't get distracted!"

Spencer quickly shook his head, snapping back to reality as he lashed the sword out as quickly as possible. Due to his state of shock earlier, he'd given himself little time to respond, so the Gao-Gao's claws ended up hitting him before the sword could get close.

Spencer cried in pain as a small cut formed on the side of his face, the boy tumbling back into the same tree. The boy slowly got back to his feet just as the Gao-Gao prepared another strike.

Spencer's eyes wide as he quickly rolled to the side, the demon's claws jamming themselves hard into the tree. Spencer blinked, seeing his opportunity and ran toward the canine, ramming his sword hard into its back.

The Gao-Gao cried out in pain as its eyes rolled to the back of its head, the demon lowering its body in defeat. There was no doubt about it: the Gao-Gao was dead.

Spencer's eyes went wide as he looked at the corpse, then at the blood on his blade then up at Metaknight. Soon, a smile crossed his face as tears ran down his eyes, the boy holding his sword up into the air shouting, "I DID IT!!!!!!"

Metaknight smiled under his mask, proud of his student. Sure, Gao-Gao was a generally weak demon, but the point was that Spencer had killed it on his own. Although all in all, Metaknight could tell that the boy wasn't ready for anything big just yet. After all, he'd had trouble defeating an ordinary Gao-Gao. But nonetheless, this was truly a great day for Spencer. He finally felt like a real hero and the feeling was fantastic.

Metaknight leapt from the tree as Spencer grinned at him and exclaimed, "Did you see that!? I just killed a demon all on my own! I didn't think I would, but I did!"

The knight chuckled and nodded to the boy. He didn't have the heart to tell him that a Gao-Gao was only a minor threat.

With that, the two returned to the castle. Training had officially finished for that day.


	10. Chapter 10

Land of Kirby

Metaknight and Jecra were walking along the path through the forest on a strangely quiet day. The two were surprised to see no demons anywhere in sight. Normally, they would have found a demon or two by noon.

"Well, it seems the star soldiers might be making progress after all," Jecra stated as Metaknight shifted his eyes back and forth saying, "You may be right. There hasn't been a single demon all day."

At that exact moment, a bolt of lightning shot down from the sky towards Jecra as Metaknight's eyes went wide, the knight shouting, "JECRA, LOOK OUT!!!!!" pushing the soldier out of the way while the bolt struck him hard in the back. Metaknight's body started to twitch from the pain, Jecra with a concerned look as he asked, "Are you alright?"

The knight nodded and glared up at the sky as a large gray cloud floated down from behind the regular clouds. The cloud had a large green eyeball along with four golden spikes coming from its sides. Metaknight's eyes went wide as a series of bolts shot down towards them, Metaknight and Jecra doing their best to dodge the onslaught.

"What is that thing?" Jecra asked once the attack stopped as Metaknight glared at the creature and said, "It looks like a Kracko, but not the usual kind."

Suddenly, Metaknight felt another presence as his eye twitched, the knight picking up a rock and hurling it towards a bush. The rock entered the bush but was tossed back moments later as a certain ninja leapt towards Metaknight, his blade raised. Luckily, Metaknight was able to whip out his blade in time to block the incoming attack from who else but Yamikage.

"Yamikage..." Metaknight said under his breath as the ninja leapt back, the knight shouting, "What are you doing here, you traitor!?"

"I just wanted to see if you liked my little present for you," the ninja replied, pointing up into the sky at the dark Kracko.

Metaknight's eyes went wide as he stared at the ninja. How had the ninja gained control over a Kracko, let alone one that was far more powerful than even the Mega Krackos? Jecra was equally shocked, but also frightened to think that the enemy had control over a beast such as this.

Yamikage let out a sigh and said, "I can tell by your expression that you don't like it. At least my hard work wasn't completely in vain."

"What do you mean by that!?" Metaknight retorted as the ninja replied, "I built that myself with materials given to me by a nice dealer. He sure had a lot of useful battle items. I should have probably paid him if I'd known his materials would allow me to make something this useful. I think I'll call him Mecha Kracko."

The knight grimaced as Jecra pulled out his sword asking, "Should we kill him?" as Yamikage ran off, Metaknight shaking his head and saying, "First, we have to destroy his awful creation."

"But how?" Jecra asked, and a good question that was. Without any means of which to fly, there was no way the two of them could fight a Kracko. However, Metaknight had a look of confidence on his face. Jecra knew that the man had something up his sleeve.

"Can you keep a secret?" the knight asked, pulling out his blade as Jecra grinned under his mask and replied, "You're my best friend. I'll gladly do it for you."

The knight smiled under his mask and looked back towards the Kracko, which was charging up electricity. The man focused hard as his cape ripped in half, Jecra's eyes wide open. Bits of the two cape halves started to transform into black flies until the two halves were in the shape of bat wings. With that, Metaknight's eyes glowed as he took off into the sky, the man flying towards the cloud.

Jecra simply stared, his jaw dropped. He couldn't believe what he was seeing as Metaknight swerved to avoid the incoming lighting, planting his sword hard into the Kracko's eye.

A metal ball located behind the eye started to sputter as sparks flew, Metaknight quickly flying away from the cloud as the metal orb controlling it exploded. The cloud material dissipated as the golden spikes fell to the ground, Metaknight landing in front of his friend, the flies returning to form the torn halves of his cape. The halves then touched up against one-another, combining to make the cape whole again.

"Metaknight... you-you're..." Jecra stuttered as Metaknight let out a sigh and said, "Yes, I'm half-vampire."

The warrior was silent, but soon he smiled under his mask, placing a hand on Metaknight's shoulder and said, "Don't you worry about a thing. This is between you and me."

The knight sighed with relief, smiling at his friend as the two resumed patrol. While most would have been scared to find something like that out, Jecra wasn't the kind to give up a friendship just because of something like this. After all, Metaknight was only half-vampire. As such, he didn't need to feed on blood nor did he ever do it. It also meant he could walk around in the daylight without burning up, something pure vampires couldn't do. Of course, that didn't really matter on Dark Star where there was no sunlight.

Back in present time, Metaknight let down a sigh after looking at a picture of his friend and thought, 'I wonder if anyone else could possibly take it as well as he did.'

That was a question best left unanswered. He was better off just hoping he'd never find a reason to use his wings in front of another ever again.

Meanwhile, Melanie was in the forest on the other side of the kingdom looking for wood to craft her new hammer with, a saw strapped to her back. This wasn't as easy as it sounded as she was looking for a certain type of wood. See, Melanie always wanted her hammers to be as strong as possible. As such, her aim was always to go after the strongest tree as it would contain the best material.

She walked from tree to tree, tapping on them as she let out a sigh. It seemed no matter how many trees she examined, she just couldn't find the right one.

After an hour of searching, she let out a deep breath, exhausted from the hours of walking and examining trees. She just wanted to take a breather now. As such, she rested her back up against a nearby tree and sat, taking another deep breath.

Seconds after doing so, her eyes went wide open as she quickly rose to her feet, turned around and gasped, her eyes sparkling. This tree was perfect, perfect thickness, perfect density... she couldn't have asked for a better tree to make her new hammer with.

With that, she slowly reached her hand toward her back, pulling her saw out and moved it towards the tree. Soon, the perfect wood would be hers.

But seconds before the saw could touch, a loud booming voice entered the area shouting, "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!!!!!??"

The girl's eyes went wide as she turned back and forth, the voice snapping, "LOOK UP!!!!!!"

Melanie slowly turned her gaze upward as her jaw dropped. She couldn't believe her eyes. The tree, which had just been a simple tree before, now had eyes and a mouth that resembled holes.

"Who are you?" she asked, blinking as the tree glared down at her and explained, "I am the ruler of the forest, Whispy Woods!"

Melanie stood silent for a few seconds before shrugging, letting out a sigh and taking her saw back saying, "Well, I certainly can't use a living tree for my hammer. Sorry for wasting your time."

However, she was soon stopped short when roots shot up out of the ground. The girl screamed in terror as more roots sprung up behind her, snatching the saw and lifting it up towards Whispy's mouth, the tree opening wide and swallowing it whole.

Melanie started to tremble as she said, "Okay, I get it. I promise I won't come here ever again," as Whispy glared furiously at her and spat, "OF COURSE YOU WON'T!!!" as a group of vines lifted her up off the ground, the grip tightening around her.

This was terrible. If this kept up, Melanie would suffocate. What could she possible do to get out of this? She had no hammer and no saw. Perhaps this was the end.

No... this wasn't over. Melanie refused to believe that she was going to die this instant. There was no way she would allow herself to be killed by a talking tree. She was tired of being pushed around by every monster or demon that she fought.

With that, she glared at Whispy and spat, "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!!!!!??"

The tree's eyes went wide as the girl snapped, "I said I was sorry! I said I wouldn't return! Why are you trying to kill me!? What do you hope to gain from that!?"

The tree blinked, rather spellbound by this as his grip on her loosened. However, Melanie knew her words hadn't reached him. In a few seconds, he would surely tighten the grip again, so Melanie needed to act fast.

With that, she started to turn her body around as she managed to squeeze herself out of the roots, taking off in a flash. There was no way she could defeat this demon tree without something to fight with. Perhaps it was best if she used a more common tree.

A few miles from the kingdom, a lone man was wandering the forest. This man had an orange bean-shaped build and a chef's hat along with an apron. Strapped to his back was a frying pan.

'Why can't I seem to find a place to call home?' the man thought as he trekked along the forest grounds, 'I've been a chef in over ten kingdoms and they've all cast me aside. Alas, I am a lonely, wandering chef.'

He let out a sigh as he continued to advance forward. Little did he know he was headed towards New Pupupuland. Perhaps they'd accept him there.

Meanwhile, Spencer was happily taking down the portraits of Dedede from the wall in his room. He knew it was frowned upon to take down the pictures of one viewed as a hero, but he knew the truth. He knew that Dedede was nothing more than a fake. Why show respect for such an awful man, especially when he had recently gained confidence in himself.

'Honestly, me, slaying a demon,' he thought as he stacked the portraits and opened his door, looking for someone to give the pictures to, 'I may have just what it takes to uphold the family honor.'

At that moment, Parm and Memu had entered the castle having left it a few minutes ago to buy doves from the nearest pet store. Rather than getting doves, they ended up with a red dragon head known as a Galbo.

"It's just not the same as doves," Parm sighed as Memu patted him on the shoulder saying, "There, there, dear. They didn't have doves. At least a Galbo can defend itself against predators."

Parm nodded, let down light tears and added, "They also eat six meals a day."

Memu rolled her eyes. Parm was being a drama queen again. She knew he would get over the loss of his doves eventually.

As the two passed Spencer down the hallway, Parm blinked and asked, "Excuse me, Spencer, but where are you taking those portraits of the late King Dedede?"

"Well, I decided someone else deserved to look at his awesome face than me," Spencer fibbed as he held them up saying, "Perhaps you'd like them."

The Galbo growled and opened its mouth, releasing a burst of flames from its mouth and burning one of the pictures as Memu took out a small water bottle, spraying water on the dragon head as it gave a sorry look. Every dragon could be tamed with water. After all, fifty percent of one's body was fire.

Parm gladly took the photos that had remained and marched off happily, Memu patting Spencer on the head and said, "Thank you. Now he's no longer obsessing over the loss of his doves."

Spencer felt pretty happy with himself. Not only had a slayed a demon, but he had just helped the royal family with a crisis of sorts, even if it wasn't a significant one. However, the boy couldn't let this get to his head, and he knew that well. He still had a long way to go before he could be a true hero.

At that moment, Melanie opened the entrance door, wiping some sweat off of her forehead with a new hammer strapped to her back. She just wanted to rest now. That encounter with Whispy Woods had taken a lot out of her. But she had made a vow to herself that she would take her new hammer and use it to beat the living daylights out of that tree.

Outside of the castle, a certain chef had approached the door as his eyes sparkled, a smile forming on his face. Perhaps this kingdom could be his new home. He slowly reached his arm out and knocked on the door excitedly.

However, shortly after he did that, his heart started to race, a look of fear on his face. What if they rejected him? What if they were looking for someone better? What if they already had a chef?

'No!' he thought as he shook his head, 'Now is not the time for thoughts like that! If I am to get a job here, I need to show confidence!'

Soon enough, the door opened as the chef's heart started to beat faster, nervous sweat going down his face. Much like before, Fumu was the one to open the door as the chef started to panic, passing out from the pressure of it all.

Later, his eyes started to open as he found himself on a couch within the castle, a cute young girl looking at him with concern as she asked, "Are you okay?"

The chef shook his head, snapping back to his senses as he got up, let out a sigh and moaned, "I'm not okay! I came here looking for a job as the kingdom's chef and I passed out before I could even meet with the royal family! How can they possibly take a worrywart like me? Every other kingdom cast me aside!"

"You poor chef," the girl, who of course was Fumu, replied as she patted him on the shoulder and said, "I'll take you to meet my parents if you want."

"That's sweet, but I'm here to see the king and queen," the chef replied as his eyes went wide, the man blinking before shouting, "YOU'RE PRINCESS FUMU!!!!!!"

With that, he leapt off of the couch and bowed to her as the princess giggled saying, "It's okay. You don't have to act formal around me. Come on, I'm sure my parents will accept another chef."

"Really?" the man replied, his eyes sparkling as the princess nodded, a warm smile on her face.

The man let down tears of joy as the princess led him down the hallway toward the royal chambers. The chef couldn't have been happier. Maybe this kingdom was the one. Maybe this was where he could spend the rest of his life working.

Knuckle Joe and Flint had been training for the last hour, but no matter how hard he tried, Flint just couldn't seem to make a breakthrough. He'd try and try but he just couldn't handle anymore than the basics of combat.

"What am I doing wrong!?" he whined as Joe placed a hand on his shoulder saying, "Don't worry about it. You still have a long way to go, but you're close enough."

At that exact moment, a Waddle Dee dressed like a postman slowly opened the door and said, "Sorry to bother you, but I have a message for a Knuckle Joe. I was told he would be here."

Joe let out a sigh and groaned, "Don't tell me I've been called for another emergency," as the postman pulled out an envelope and said, "Be careful. It's a SINGING telegram."

"Dammit, I hate those," Joe cursed as he took the letter and shooed the postman away. Flint blinked, curious about this. He had heard of singing telegrams before but had never actually seen one.

Joe slowly opened the envelope, letting out a sigh as the image of a Kirby wearing a blue headband appeared singing, "Knuckle Joe! We need your help! Please come over now! Knuckle Joe! We're being invaded by the enemy! Our forces tried their hardest and failed miserably! We need you and you're unstoppable army! Knuckle Joe! Please come and help us, it would mean a lot! Knuckle Joe!"

With that, the letter sealed itself back into the envelope, the package bursting into flame as Joe groaned, "Do you see why I hate getting these things?"

Flint just blinked, no idea how to respond to that. That was the weirdest thing he had ever seen in his life.

Joe let out a sigh and rubbed his invisible nostrils saying, "That letter was from our neighboring kingdom, Gluttonberg, a kingdom run by Kirbies. If they really need my help, it must be a serious emergency. After all, every one of their soldiers is a Kirby."

Flint nodded in understanding as Joe turned to him, grinned and said, "Well, we have our work cut out for us. Let's get going."

Joe's eyes went wide at the sound of this. He was going on a mission with the others? He had dreamed of going on a royal mission led by Knuckle Joe, but he never thought it would actually happen. This was a very happy day for him. He had to do all he could not to let his trainer down.

The chef was led into the throne room as Fumu told him to wait outside like she had the Kirbies when they'd first arrived. While he waited, the chef sighed, sweating nervously. What if they didn't accept him?

Fumu poked her head out of the room and said, "Dad's ready to see you," the chef gulping as he slowly entered, eyes widening at the sight of the new pet Galbo.

The Galbo growled at him as Memu sprayed the dragon head with water saying, "Don't intimidate newcomers!" the Galbo putting on a sorry expression.

The chef immediately knelt down on his hands and knees quickly shouting, "It is an honor to be in your presence!"

Parm chuckled and knelt down, lifting the man up to his feet by his shoulders saying, "Please, you don't need to be a nervous wreck around us. After all, we're happy to have a new chef among us."

The cook breathed a sigh of relief as he wiped some sweat off of his forehead saying, "My name is Kawasaki. I have traveled far and wide to work for you as your kingdom's chef."

Parm smiled and said, "Well, we are certainly pleased to hear that, right dear?"

Memu simply nodded in agreement, and unlike usual, she wasn't just going along with her husband on this. After all, there was nothing wrong with having another chef working for them, especially since most of the kingdom's chefs were Waddle Dees. It was nice to see a new species come along, whatever Kawasaki was supposed to be.

Kawasaki let down a tear of joy and said, "Thank you so much," as Parm smiled and said, "If you have any problems of any kind, don't be afraid to ask the other chefs for help. That's what they're here for, after all."

"I thought they were here to cook dinner for us," Memu replied as Parm let down a sweat drop saying, "Yeah, that too."

And so it was settled. Kawasaki was the new chef and he was going to do his best to make the kingdom proud. However, when he exited the throne room, he started to worry. Every other king had banished him, saying that his cooking was criminal and that he had no chance of ever becoming great. He prayed so hard that these people wouldn't react the same way to his cooking as the others before them had.

Meanwhile, Joe had called his students together for a meeting in regards to the letter he had received earlier that day. The boy rubbed his invisible nostrils and explained, "Everyone, I've received an urgent message from the kingdom of Gluttonberg. We must help our allies in this time of crisis."

Michael grinned and said, "Hey, we haven't gotten a request for help from those guys in a while."

Melody nodded with a smile saying, "I remember the last mission we had. It was so wonderful. Everyone praised me for my work so much," as Jason rolled his eyes and replied, "They treated you just like they treated everyone else who wasn't Joe."

Melody folded her arms and grumbled, "Killjoy," as Sam folded her arms and said, "It must be serious if an army of Kirbies needs our help."

Melanie rose her stubby arm in the air and asked, "Hey, Joe, I know I'm not one of the castle's fighters, but can I help?"

Joe shrugged and said, "I don't see why not. After all, you are one of my students."

Melanie smiled with confidence as she twirled her hammer around, four Waddle Doos standing around her ducking their heads for safety purposes. If she could do a good job helping the other kingdom out, maybe Metaknight would see her as a great asset to the kingdom's army. It was worth a shot.

And after more briefing, the plan was clear as Joe led the fighters out of the gym. They needed to get to Gluttonberg as soon as possible for the next attack from the invaders was to start on the following day, and they needed to act fast. The neighboring kingdom was forty miles West from New Pupupuland.


	11. Chapter 11

Land of Kirby

Note: Keep in mind that I'm not making every back story true to that of the show. Also, Oosaka is Shiitake's Japanese name.

Kawasaki entered the kitchen he would be working in and looked around with a smile at all the Waddle Dees, Doos and Cappies that he would work with. Among them was a brown Kirby wearing a chef's hat atop her head. This was the head chef, Misa.

Kawasaki slowly walked towards the Cook Kirby who was busy looking over the day's recipes and said, "Hi, I'm Kawasaki," feeling stupid after giving such an obvious introduction to himself.

Misa turned away from the recipes and looked at the man and gave him a warm smile saying, "You're the new guy, right? Well, I'm Misa. I'll be your boss while you work here. It's nice having another chef around here."

Kawasaki blushed and chuckled. Perhaps working here wouldn't be so bad. Misa seemed nice enough and no one seemed to mind his company.

Soon enough, Misa had selected the day's dinner and showed Kawasaki around the kitchen. Since there were many working there, the kitchen's size had been expanded on several occasions, and being one of the only rooms in the basement, it wasn't too much of a problem. However, it had grown close to using up its limit, so at this point, Kawasaki was lucky to have gotten a position here.

Misa showed Kawasaki everything, such as where the stoves were, where the ingredients were kept, and along the way, the chef noticed the one chef in the kingdom besides him who wasn't of a known species. He had no idea what that creature was. He was short and plump and wore a blue, red and white striped outfit. He also wore a pair of shades, had tan-colored skin and sported a yellow mustache.

Misa noticed Kawasaki looking at the odd figure and explained, "That's our top chef, Monsieur Goan. He came from the kingdom of Futsubun. He's so into his country's spirit that he wears clothes to match the colors of the Futsubun Flag."

Kawasaki smiled and nodded in understanding as the girl held the man closed, whispering, "It's recommended that you don't speak to him. He prefers not to talk to us and refuses to speak English unless it's absolutely necessary."

Kawasaki blinked and nodded his head. It didn't bother him in the slightest that this man was anti-social. He was just glad to have been given the job. It wasn't as if he expected his co-workers to like him. He'd grown used to that over the past.

We now go back some time in the past to a day when Metaknight and Jecra were walking through a swamp. Jecra had an uneasy look due to the stench of the place and the fact that he kept stepping in puddles of grime.

Metaknight looked over at him, chuckled and asked, "What's wrong? Can't handle a little water?"

Jecra's eye started to twitch as he glared at the knight. He wished he could be more like the man. Metaknight had a strange tolerance to anything horrible as long as it wasn't an enemy.

While the two continued to walk through the swamp when some of the water started to rise behind them. Metaknight quickly turned around, his eyes wide as he shouted, "JECRA, LOOK OUT!!!!!" but Jecra was unable to turn around in time as the being struck him hard in the back.

The warrior's eyes went wide, Metaknight's heart beating at an alarming rate as a sword was jammed hard into Jecra's heart. The man let down a tear and said, "It's been fun, Metaknight. Tell my son... I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise to him...."

With that, Jecra fell to the ground, blood flowing through the swamp water as Metaknight's body started to twitch. He looked up and glared at the owner of the blade with fury in his eyes.

"There," said a familiar ninja while blood dripped down the end of his sword, "Now this battle will only be between the two of us."

Metaknight pulled out his blade, his cape transforming into bat wings as he shouted, "HOW DARE YOU!!!!!!??" flying towards the ninja, who held up his blade to block the incoming strike.

The ninja grimaced as Metaknight overpowered his blade, knocking it out of his hands and forcing the ninja's back into the swamp water. Metaknight lifted him up by the collar as fire burned within him, the knight shouting, "Why did you do it!!!!?? I thought you only wanted my life, Yamikage!!!!??"

Yamikage didn't answer, but instead pulled out a small ball and pressed hard on it, smoke forming around him while Metaknight released his hold on the ninja, flapping his wings to blow the smoke away. As the smoke cleared, the ninja was gone... or so it seemed.

While Metaknight's back was turned, Yamikage leapt from a nearby tree and aimed a kick at his back, however, the knight was not going to let the ninja get away with the murder of his best friend. With that, he turned his body around, thrusting his blade towards in the incoming kick and putting a cut in Yamikage's foot, the man once again falling on his back into the swamp water, his foot now bleeding.

Metaknight soared over to him, his blade raised as Yamikage glared, now unable to move as he asked, "What are you going to do, murder me?"

Metaknight's eyes went wide at the sound of those very words. 'Murder me'. What would the knight accomplish if he did that? Not only would it not bring his best friend back, but if he killed Yamikage, he would be on the ninja's level. It was one thing to kill a heartless demon, but it was another to kill a being who still had a soul.

Yamikage laughed wickedly saying, "I knew you couldn't do it," as his body started to light up, the ninja vanishing from sight.

Metaknight lowered his head in shame. He'd been given a perfect chance to end the traitor's life and he'd thrown it away. Whether he would ever get that chance again or not was uncertain, but right now, there were more important things to think about.

Metaknight walked over to Jecra's body and lifted the man up, tears running down from behind his mask as he sniffed, "Don't worry, old friend. I'll tell your son that his was a true hero."

And with that, he carried Jecra all the way back to his hometown to receive a proper burial. The trip took well over five days, and Metaknight had to stop every now and then to eat and battle demons, but Jecra had truly deserved to be honored for the brave man that he was.

A week after the event, a funeral was held as a young woman with long snow white hair, purple flesh and elf ears tried her best not to cry as she knew Jecra wouldn't want her to. However, she found such a thing impossible. Jecra's son, Knuckle Joe, who at this time was only seven years old, simply looked at his mother with a look of confusion.

"Mom, why are you crying?" he asked as the woman patted him on the head and sniffed, "Sometimes, son, it's okay for adults to cry."

Metaknight, who was in the audience, looked over at the two and sighed. He could only imagine the pain his family felt right now. Sure, Joe may not have looked all that heartbroken, but that was because his father had taught him to act tough during any situation. Metaknight knew that the kid was just as sad as his mother, if not more.

A priest walked up to a podium in front of a coffin saying, "We are here to honor the life of Jecra Kobushi. Jecra was a great man and a good friend to us all. When he left us, he knew he was putting his life at risk and we all wished him the best. No one knows why God has decided to take him from us before he could make a safe return, but his death is not in vain. Jecra slayed many demons during his travels and did the absolute best that he could. He kept the world safe from some of the deadliest of demons."

With that, the Cappy priest ended the speech as the a group of Waddle Dees lifted up the coffin, carrying it off into the distance toward a location that Metaknight had chosen as the perfect spot to bury him. Metaknight let out a sigh and got up from his seat, but before he could do anything, he felt a hand tug on his cape.

The knight turned to see Knuckle Joe standing there saying, "Dad wrote about you a lot. He said you were his best friend."

Metaknight knelt down and ruffled the boy's hair, saying, "Your father was a true hero."

Back in present time, Metaknight was standing before Joe's grave. He knelt down and wiped some dust off of the tombstone saying, "If you could see your son now, you would be proud."

We now take you to Gluttonberg where a black Kirby wearing a blue headband stood, waiting for his backup to arrive. He squinted his eyes and saw Joe and his army of fighters marching towards the castle, his eyes sparkling.

Mere seconds after Joe set foot on the ground, his eyes went wide when said Kirby ran over to him and shook his hand shouting, "Thank you so much for coming, Knuckle Joe, old friend! We really need your help!"

Joe smiled and patted the man on the back saying, "Don't mention it. It's our job, after all."

Flint and Melanie blinked as Michael pointed at the black Kirby saying, "That's Rocky, the captain of the Gluttonberg Army."

Joe signaled the fighters to follow him into the castle. They were to spend the night there and prepare for the second attack that was to take place the following day.

"So, how are the king and queen doing?" Joe asked as Rocky replied, "They've been perfectly fine and certainly well-fed."

Rocky soon gave the army the grand tour of Castle Glutton. It looked fairly similar to New Pupupuland's castle, only it was loaded with portraits of fruit salad and other food products. The kingdom wasn't called Gluttonberg for nothing.

Flint's eyes sparkled as Melanie sighed, patted him on the shoulder and said, "It must be easy to be so easily amazed," as Flint turned to give her a cold glare.

Jason started to twitch as he turned his gaze around asking, "Do they have a jungle gym now? Please tell me they've added a jungle gym!"

Sam let out a sigh and remarked, "For the last time, none of the kingdoms have jungle gyms," as Jason let down tears of disappointment.

Melody folded her arms and grumbled, "I don't understand why we always have to take this tour when we've been here more than four times," Basil nodding in agreement saying, "I just wish we could start with dinner. Their food is leagues ahead of ours."

Michael shushed the two and explained, "You know as well as I do that Rocky likes showing off the castle, and besides, we get new recruits every now and then, and they certainly deserve to take the tour."

Melanie and Flint found that statement rather odd. To the best of their knowledge, they were the only recruits. Then again, Joe had said that distress calls from Gluttonberg were rare, so perhaps some of the long-time recruits hadn't seen the kingdom yet.

Rocky showed the army to the training facilities and much to Melanie and Flint's surprise, there were very few Fighter Kirbies in this kingdom, despite the entire place being populated by Kirbies.

The first non-fighter army they noticed was a group of dark-skinned Kirbies. Even the yellow and white ones were darker than the typical yellow and white Kirby. All of them sported war helmets with golden stars in the center along with red ponytails. These were known as Stone Kirbies, Kirbies with the power to transform into stone.

The training session was quite fascinating to watch, even for those who had been there before. Sure, there was the typical transformation into a rock, but some of the others took forms such as stone statues, stone boxes and even stone fists pointed downward. Some of the more advanced Stone Kirbies were able to become metal eight-ton weights.

There were also Kirbies with red and yellow hats known as Missile Kirbies. Flint and Melanie's eyes sparkled as they transformed their bodies into missiles and flew into targets, the missiles exploding as their bodies returned to normal.

Finally, there were Kirbies that wore the same headband that Rocky did. Since their headbands were blue and not red, these were known as Suplex Kirbies. As the name implied, they specialized in grappling-based attacks rather than direct ones.

After the tour, Flint simply blinked and said, "It's no wonder they rarely count on New Pupupuland with that kind of army."

However, Melanie was disappointed that there were no Hammer Kirbies. Of all places, one would have expected to see one here.

Meanwhile, in a kingdom just a few miles from Gluttonberg known as Oro Town, a woman was commanding an army of various fighting creatures. Sure, there were Waddle Dees and Doos, but there were also pineapples known as Jungle Bombs. Each one wore a battle helmet with the leaves coming out of a hole in the middle and had a pair of legs and eyes. The part of their faces below the eyes were their mouths, which whenever opened made it look as if the Jungle Bombs had almost been cut in half.

There were also small ninja-like beings with big skull masks and small ponytails called Bounders. They were mostly beginner ninjas, but they were still useful nonetheless.

This woman who trained them had a round body similar to that of a Kirby, only she wore a dark blue suit of armor with a golden rim that, in its own way, resembled an eyeball. She also had a pair of shoulder pads that resembled the spiked balls on the end of maces. Her hands were big pink spheres and she wore a bow atop her head. This was the legendary fighter known as Iron Mom.

While the fighters trained, two in-particular were seriously upstaging them. One was a bit taller than the other, but their appearances were very similar. Both wore light-blue outfits similar to what a jester would wear along with big yellow shoes and nightcaps. These two were known as the Poppy Brothers. The tall one was Poppy Bros. Senior and the short one was Poppy Bros. Junior. Both specialized in bombs, so they were a very valuable asset to the team.

Senior blew up a target made of stone as Junior blew up the head of another as both looked over at Iron Mom and asked, "How was that!?"

"Excellent work, you two," the trainer replied with a smile under her armor, "I am very proud of you."

Another was an odd man with a pink body and a tuft of yellow hair. He also wore a karate outfit with a black belt and had a pair of blue hands that just floated in the air due to him having no arms. He picked up one of the targets and shouted a loud battle cry, punching it repeatedly in the face and hurling it hard into the wall, shattering it to pieces. This man was known as Jukiddo.

"Excellent display," Iron Mom stated as Jukiddo performed a fighting pose saying, "Those pigs will never know what hit them!" sending his foot forward for show.

Iron Mom reached her right hand back, facing a gong that was two inches away from her and shot her fist forward, the sphere detaching from her arm as it rammed hard into the gong, Mom turning to her soldiers and said, "It's time for dinner, everyone. You've all had a long day of training. You need your rest for tomorrow."

The army bowed to the woman and exclaimed, "Thank you, Miss Iron Mom!" and proceeded towards the dining hall in an orderly fashion.

Back at Gluttonberg, dinner had just started and everyone was fighting over seats. Michael watched the display from the kingdom's soldiers from the guest table and sighed, slapping his forehead.

"Is dinner always like this here?" Melanie asked as Sam nodded, saying, "Hasn't anyone ever taught these people table manners?"

When the army finally managed to find seats, a green middle-aged Kirby dressed in king's attire entered the room along with a yellow Kirby dressed like a queen. The two sat down as the king looked around saying, "We would like to give a toast to Knuckle Joe and his army for coming here. With that, let's eat!"

Flint and Melanie stared with shock as the Gluttonberg soldiers started to scarf down their huge plates of food at an alarming rate. Basil simply grinned and said, "I like these people," as he bit into a turkey leg.

Melanie simply turned to Flint and said, "They didn't even give a toast to us," as Michael patted her on the shoulder saying, "Get used to it. They're always like this."

And with that, the soldiers all enjoyed their dinner before starting to train for the big day tomorrow. They needed to get as much training in as possible with only three hours until their specified bedtime.

Meanwhile, back at Pupupuland Castle, dinner had been served as Spencer darted his eyes back and forth asking, "Where is everyone?"

Of course, there were people there, but half the kingdom had gone missing. All of the fighters along with his friends Flint and Melanie were gone.

Motoko placed her hand against her chin and stated, "I saw them all leaving the castle earlier," as Fumu nodded towards them and said, "Joe cleared this up with us before he left. They've been called to the kingdom of Gluttonberg on important business."

Spencer thought about this and shrugged, nodding his head in understanding. After all, the fighters were the ones specifically chosen for long-distance missions as they were trained to sustain long trips. It was only a matter of time until Flint and Melanie had to leave for that sort of thing.

Metaknight looked at Spencer and sighed thinking, 'What if I lose him too?' before standing up in his seat and leaving the dinner table, taking his food with him.

"Say, why is it that Metaknight never actually stays with us for dinner?" Spencer asked as a female Waddle Doo next to him stated, "He doesn't want anyone to see his real face. He's mysterious like that."

That bit of news confused the boy. Why was it that Metaknight hid his face? He dared not ask that, though, as he figured it was one of those things that wasn't worth questioning.

Everyone took a bite out of their food as Parm face started to turn green. He then signaled his hand toward a Waddle Dee who brought him a bag as he turned away from the others, throwing up into the bag.

Fumu turned to her father and blinked saying, "I thought the food was good," as Parm turned around and asked, "May I try a sample of yours, sweetheart?"

Fumu groaned, wishing he hadn't called her that, but gave her a sample anyway as the man gulped it down breathing a sigh of relief. However, everyone else was confused. How come the king's meal was so much worse than the others?

Back in the kitchen, everyone was taking a breather from the hard work they had done as Kawasaki had a nervous look on his face, Misa placing a hand on his back and asking, "What's wrong?"

The chef sighed and replied, "I just hope the king likes the food I made him," as Misa chuckled saying, "Well, it can be a lot of pressure cooking for the king, but I'm sure he'll love it."

At that exact moment, one of the kingdom's Cappies walked into the kitchen and asked, "May I see Misa?" as the female Kirby walked over, the man handing her a scroll.

"Oh, it's the king's review of today's meal," she said with a smile as everyone crowded around except for Goan, who really didn't care what the king thought unless his meal was being reviewed.

Misa unrolled the scroll with a look of shock. She started mouthing the words with disbelief as Kawasaki trembled with fear.

Misa cleared her throat and read the note aloud saying, "I am absolutely envious. Everyone got a good meal except for me. The food I received made me vomit. I recommend that whoever served me this garbage receive training from the head chef this instant."

Everyone looked at Kawasaki, Goan slowly moving his eyes towards the man as Kawasaki's jaw was dropped, sweat going down his face. At that moment, Goan started to laugh while everyone except for Misa started to join him. Kawasaki's eyes went wide with fear as everyone laughed at him. It was the kingdom of Holark all over again. Everywhere he'd gone, he'd been laughed at by the other chefs and fired on his first day on the job.

Misa glared at all the chefs and shouted, "IF YOU DON'T STOP LAUGHING, I'LL MAKE YOU ALL CLEAN UP THE KITCHEN!!!!!!" as they all gasped, coughing and whistling innocently, the laughter coming to a stop.

The girl then led Kawasaki into the storage room as he had his head lowered with a look of shame on his face. He had hoped so much that he wouldn't mess up this time.

Misa sat down on a stool and sighed, "I'm sorry about that. They're so insensitive."

"Don't apologize," Kawasaki replied, letting down a tear, "I've always been a forth-rate chef, but what am I to do? Cooking is in my blood! I just can't bring myself to do anything else!"

Misa gave him a compassionate smile and asked, "Well, did you ever receive training?" as the chef nodded his head and replied, "I was trained by the legendary Cook Oosaka."

Upon hearing these very words, Misa gasped. Oosaka had always been a hero of hers. It was said that he himself had invented the secret to perfect flavor. But how could someone trained by him be so bad at cooking?

"I'll tell you what," Misa said, placing a hand on his shoulder, "I'll teach you myself. I may not be as good as Oosaka, but I won't rest until you're at least as good as the Waddle Dees."

Kawasaki sniffed and looked at her asking, "Really?" as the girl nodded, Kawasaki lifting her up in an embrace, her eyes widening as he shouted, "OH, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!"

Misa laughed nervously, patting on the back as he set her down, blushing and saying, "Sorry about that," the Kirby chuckling.

As Metaknight sat in his room, his meal just sat in front of him. It had been barely touched as the knight let out a sigh. Why today did he have to remember Jecra's death? Couldn't it have happened after dinner?

"I know Jecra wouldn't want me to feel like this," the knight said to himself, "but I can't help thinking that this might happen to Spencer."

Metaknight shook his head and gulped down a meatball thinking, 'No, now is not the time to think like that! That was then, this is now! I know that Spencer will be able to take care of himself one day! Besides, it's not like Yamikage knows about him! He'll be fine!'

And soon enough, Metaknight finished his meal. The hours passed as it was soon time for everyone to rest up for tomorrow. Tomorrow would be a big day not only for castle's fighters, but also for Spencer, but the Sword Kirby didn't know that just yet.


	12. Chapter 12

Land of Kirby

While everyone slept, Motoko was once again wide awake and creeping about the castle. Sure, she'd only been training for two days, but she wasn't going to give up on her goal just yet. What kind of ninja would she be if she did that?

As she walked down the hall, she heard a familiar noise and looked up, seeing the silhouette of a man she wished would have just given up by now. She glared as she pulled out a shuriken, speeding on the tips of her feet towards the green door.

As the familiar ninja leapt down from the ceiling, Motoko quickly hurled the ninja star towards the door. But much to her shock, the ninja's body inflated as he floated inches above the star, the shuriken missing the target completely.

'No...' Motoko thought as Yamikage turned his inflated body towards hers, lowered his mask and blew a large gust of wind at the ninja woman, sending her flying into the wall surrounding the entrance to this particular room.

"I'll give you some credit," Yamikage said, folding his arms, "That strategy actually could have worked on an experienced ninja. However, you failed to take into account the possibility of a master knowing Bouman Jutsu, the power to puff up like a balloon."

Motoko groaned, rubbing the back of her head with fire in her eyes. She was tired of being beaten by this guy. There was no way she was going to lose this time.

She quickly pulled out her blade and charged towards the male ninja who simply pulled out his own blade and thrust it downward, an energy slash emerging from it and heading hard into Motoko's face. As Motoko stumbled backwards, her face now bleeding a bit from the strike, the energy blade vanished , cherry blossoms taking its place.

Motoko held her hand up to the spot on her face between her eyes, now trembling with fear. For the first time, Yamikage had caused her to bleed. Maybe the man was right. Maybe Motoko didn't stand a chance against him.

Yamikage walked towards her and glared at her saying, "I'll give you this: you improved much more quickly than any other ninja would have. I should kill you now before you become good enough to stop me," raising his blade.

But just as the male ninja was about to strike, his eyes went wide as a figure streaked past him, the back of his shirt taring in the middle, blood trickling down his back. He angrily turned his gaze around and glared as Metaknight stood tall, the blood vanishing from his blade.

"You just don't give up, do you?" the knight asked as Yamikage's eyes narrowed, the ninja's body glowing as he vanished in a twister of cherry blossoms.

The knight walked over to Motoko and looked at her face asking, "Are you alright, Miss Motoko?" as the ninja woman let out a sigh saying, "I'm fine thanks to you, Metaknight."

However, this relief didn't just come from the fact that she had once again been given another chance. It was also due to the words Yamikage said, how she'd improved faster than any other ninja would have. Perhaps if she trained a little more, she might actually become good enough to defeat the male ninja.

Soon enough, morning came and everyone in Gluttonberg had assembled to the kitchen for breakfast. They had all had a good night's sleep and today was the day that the Oro Town army would launch its second attack. Everyone was confident to have the help of Knuckle Joe and his troops this time around.

While the Gluttonberg soldiers forced down their breakfast at an alarming rate, Melanie simply let out a sigh and said, "Somehow, I get this feeling we may be doing all the work," while Michael shook his head saying, "They may eat a lot, but they're certainly skilled in battle. We're only meant to add a little bit to their power."

Flint was both nervous and excited about this. This was the first mission he'd been assigned to, and while he was carrying it out with every other fighter in the kingdom, it still made him feel important.

After New Pupupuland had breakfast, no one having to deal with the burden of Kawasaki's cooking this time around, Spencer got up from his seat and headed towards the sword training gym. After all, that was where he and Metaknight were to train.

However, when he entered the gym, he noticed a big sheet of paper on the door to the back room. The yellow Sword Kirby blinked and looked over it. The writing on the paper stated that Spencer was to go to Metaknight's room for the day's training. But what kind of training could he do in there? Metaknight didn't exactly have a big bedroom, after all. Nonetheless, he dared not disobey the man. After all, it was Metaknight.

Meanwhile, the kingdom's chefs had gone on break. After all, they were off-duty until four o'clock in the afternoon. While they were on break, Misa and Kawasaki were still in the kitchen as Kawasaki was pouring ingredients into a boiling pot of water.

"Excellent work," Misa said with a smile, "Now remember, Kawasaki, it's okay to improvise the recipe, but I think you'd be better off following it."

The chef let out a sigh as he stirred in the soup ingredients saying, "I know that, but I can't help myself. I like to be creative."

"And it's nothing to be ashamed of," the girl replied, patting him on the back, "but before you try something like that for real, it's often a better idea to experiment with it first, discover what ingredients go well together, because some don't."

Kawasaki perked up upon hearing that. Maybe that was why he'd been fired from his previous jobs. He had always experimented with his own original creations at the wrong time and on the wrong people. Maybe it was for the best that he only test the food himself and do it on his own time, not when making a good meal was crucial.

Joe stood at the front of his forces as he turned toward his soldiers and asked, "Alright, men, what are we gonna do!?"

"WIN THIS WAR!!!!!!" the fighters yelled back as Joe rose his fist in the air shouting, "THAT'S WHAT I LIKE TO HEAR!!!!"

With that, the fighters ran into the forest, diving into bushes and climbing up trees. Rocky and Joe stayed behind, preparing themselves for any attack that may have gotten past their defenses.

"Are you sure this is a good strategy?" Rocky asked as Joe nodded, rubbing his invisible nostrils saying, "Trust me, the best way to defeat the enemy is to make sure they don't make it to the castle first."

Meanwhile, the Oro Town army was halfway through the forest. Iron Mom walked in the front while Jukiddo marched next to her. The tough woman felt more than ready for this.

As they made their way further through the forest, they were shocked when a group of dark-skinned Kirbies leapt out of the tree. The Waddle Dees started to panic as the Kirbies took the forms of statues, rocks, stone fists and weights falling toward the ground hard, crushing a few Dees underneath.

Iron Mom's eyes went wide as she turned to the Poppy Brothers and snapped, "You two, assist them! Make sure none of these fighters mess up our plan!"

Senior gave her an army salute shouting, "Yes sir!!!" Junior turning to him and replying, "Isn't iron mom a woman?"

Mom ignored that statement from Senior and nodded to Jukiddo, the two rushing off into the distance while various other soldiers emerged from the bushes and trees. The Waddle Dees squared off against one-another, shooting beams at each other from their cyclops eyes while the Dees simply rough-housed one-another, the Cappies giving their support as well.

All of that was broken up when the Jungle Bombs entered the scene, pulling bombs out of their mouths and hurling them all over the place, causing various explosions, the Stone Kirbies too scared to come out of their stone forms. One of the Jungle Bombs let down a sweat drop when he realized all of them had not only hit the opponents but their own allies as well. Thus was the danger with using bombs.

The other Kirbies would have come in to help had they not been held up by the Bounders, who did all they could to keep the fighters in the bushes. However, while the Fighter and Suplex Kirbies were busy, the Missile Kirbies managed to knock out the ninjas attacking them by transforming into their missile forms, all soaring towards the Jungle Bombs, the pineapples screaming in terror and fleeing from the vicinity.

"NO, STOP!!!!!" Poppy Bros. Senior shouted, "You have to keep fighting for Iron Mom's sake!"

"Forget that!" snapped one of the Jungle Bombs as they fled for their lives, doing all they could to dodge the incoming missiles.

The Dees and Doos recovered from the damage dealt by the bombs and resumed fighting as Michael, Melody, Basil, Jason and Sam managed to fight off the Bounders keeping them from making progress, leaping out from behind the bushes to assist their comrades. However, Melanie and Flint were surrounded and had been tied up by the beginner ninjas with an array of ninja rope, six ninjas all pulling on the rope and holding tightly onto the ends.

"Well, this is irritating," Flint groaned as Melanie pondered the situation then smiled compassionately saying, "Don't you worry about a thing, Flint. I know exactly how to get us out of here."

Flint blinked with confusion as Melanie lifted the parts of her arms that weren't tied up, wrapping them around the rope and signaling Flint to do the same. Flint simply stared for a while, then shrugged, going along with it. It wasn't as if they had anything to lose at this point.

Melanie grinned at the boy and made a pulling motion with her arms as Flint nodded, now understanding the plan. With that, the two pulled the rope inwards with all of their strength, the Bounders losing their footing and flying forward, being pulled with the rope, and soared over the two Kirbies, all six ramming head-first into each other before falling to the ground and loosening the rope.

Flint grinned as the two untied themselves and said, "Melanie, you are a genius," as the hammer Kirby smiled warmly saying, "I know I am."

Flint's eyes narrowed in response to such an egotistical comment, but now was not the time to think about that. Now was the time to help the others out.

However, just as they were about to leave, they heard the voice of a child shout, "Did you see that, big brother!? That was so cool!"

The two turned to see two kids wearing jester outfits standing there as the taller of the two turned to his little brother saying, "I agree. Even I wouldn't have thought of that."

Melanie glared at the two as Flint gritted his teeth. They knew these two weren't on their side, not because they'd actually seen the Poppy Brothers among the Jungle Bombs but because they knew these two weren't a part of their army.

Melanie pulled out her hammer and asked, "Who are you?" as the Junior started to panic, Senior patting him on the head and saying, "Cheer up. They asked us who we are."

At the sound of that, Junior's eyes sparkled as he asked, "Does that mean...?" as Senior nodded with a warm smile, the kid shouting, "HORRAY!!!!!!"

Flint and Melanie blinked in confusion as Senior held Junior up on his shoulders, Junior pulling out a music box as an upbeat rhythm came from it. Flint and Melanie were even more confused when the older brother threw his younger brother into the air, the kid performing various back flips.

The kid then landed on a tree branch and sang, "If you're looking for a powerful and unbeatable team..."

Senior leapt up towards the tree as Junior leaned back, grabbing onto his wrists as he closed in on the branch, the older boy singing, "If you want a duo who can take care of anyone you please..."

With that, Junior lifted his older brother up, leaning backward as both fell off of the branch and rolled up into a wheel formation singing, "Call upon the Poppy Bros! You won't regret such a choice! We will take care of anyone with ease!"

Both let go of one-another, landing perfectly on their feet as Junior sang, "Call upon us for our services, we won't stir you wrong!"

Senior performed a series of poses singing, "There's nothing we cannot do because we're too darn strong!"

With that, the two performed a long dance number that went for half-a-minute with one another, Melanie and Flint both confused by all of this. Was this for real?

"We are the Poppy Bros!" the two sang as Junior stepped in front of Senior shouting, "Junior!" and Senior leaping over his brother announcing, "And Senior!"

With that, the two performed a back flip away from one-another singing, "You cannot go wrong with us, nothing will ever stop us, nothing strikes terror in us!"

The two made a perfect landing ending the musical number with the words, "POPPY BROS!!!!!"

Melanie and Flint stared silent while crickets chirped in the background. The Poppy Brothers both cheered for themselves, giving each other a high five before grinning at the duo and asking, "What did you think? We spent all night rehearsing that!"

Flint made a indecisive mouth noise while waving his hand in a 'so-so' kind of way. Melanie shook her head and said, "Well, the song was catchy, but I didn't understand the rhyme scheme. It changed in the second half."

Then the two blinked, stared at one-another then back at the Poppy Brothers and spat, "WHY ARE WE CRITIQUING YOUR STUPID SONG!!!!!??"

The Poppy brothers' eyes went wide as they both embraced one another. Then they bit their lips as tears ran down their faces. How dare those Kirbies say such a thing?

"Big brother, is our song really... stupid?" Junior asked as Senior shook his head and replied, "They're just jealous because of our mad singing skills."

Melanie and Flint looked at each other, their eyes narrowed, then turned back to the Poppy Brothers. This was ridiculous beyond belief. However, their tune soon changed when both jesters reached under their hats, each pulling a pair of bombs out.

"Well, this is a bit of a predicament, isn't it?" Melanie asked as Flint nodded his head saying, "Indeed," the two leaping back to avoid the incoming explosives.

However, despite being away from the explosion, the bombs released a shock wave sending both back-first into a big tree. The two Kirbies slid down the side of the oxygen-releasing plant, both groaning in pain.

"Okay, this is beyond irritating," Melanie grumbled as Flint nodded and said, "Let's teach these two a lesson they'll never forget."

With that said, the two nodded and climbed back to their feet. The Poppy Brothers both grinned while pulling out bombs and hurling them at the two. However, this time the two were prepared.

The girl pulled out her hammer and held it back Junior's bomb closed in, the girl throwing her hammer forward. Flint also thrust his arms forward, catching Senior's bomb. However, the results weren't as expected. As soon as Melanie's hammer hit the incoming bomb, the projectile exploded sending her tumbling across the ground in pain. A mere second after Flint grabbed the bomb coming at him, it also exploded in his face, but unlike Melanie, the Fighter Kirby was sent into a rock.

Blood dripped out of the boy's head as he slowly got to his feet, body shaking from the intense pain. Melanie was rubbing her head gritting her teeth as the two brothers performed a dance singing, "You didn't enjoy our song though you know it didn't suck! Look at you now, you're down on your luck!"

But while the two laughed triumphantly, Melanie ignored the pain she had taken in as if it was nothing and charged towards the two, getting up on the tips of her feet and spinning her body around like a top, the hammer pointed outward. Both brothers were too confident that they'd won to see it coming as the mallet rammed hard into each one's cheek, Junior flying back-first into a tree branch and Senior flying into the side of the tree, causing it to vibrate as Junior fell out of the tree landing head-first into Senior's skull.

Melanie breathed heavily, a look of fury in her eyes as she spat, "That oughta shut you two up!" as Flint finally shook off his pain, leaping at the two with his feet out, planting a kick on each one's forehead.

Flint let out a sigh of relief saying, "That was annoying," Melanie nodding in agreement, but their confidence soon left them as Junior bent his legs forward, planting his feet up against the ground.

Melanie's eyes went wide as her jaw dropped when Junior slowly rose to his feet, rubbing his head groaning, "That hurt!"

Flint started to tremble with fear as Senior's body twitched, the tall jester rising to his feet grunting, "That was a cheap shot..."

With that, the two of them leapt up into the tree leaves as Melanie joined Flint's trembling. Now the Poppies were mad and wanted their revenge. Why couldn't they have just stayed down?

Melanie and Flint looked up into the tree as a small bomb fell down towards them, the two leaping away from it dodging the explosion. However, they failed to notice the Poppy Brothers leap out of the tree on opposite sides. Junior landed behind Melanie, a bomb in hand as he placed it on her head and leapt away from the Hammer Kirby, waving to her as the Kirby looked up, her eyes widening. Senior did the same to Flint, only he placed it up right behind the Fighter Kirby, performing a back flip away from him.

Before either had a time to respond, the bombs exploded, the two flying into one-another before passing out. Junior and Senior both grinned at one-another proudly and started to perform a victory dance.

Unbeknownst to them, Melanie and Flint were still breathing, but it didn't matter. Both had lost their confidence after that.

"What's the point?" Flint groaned as Melanie let out a sigh and stated, "I hate to admit it, but we can't win this battle. These two are just too fast for us."

Flint's eyes then went wide as he remembered something important. This battle wasn't for their sake, it was for the sake of Gluttonberg. And besides, what would Knuckle Joe say if he saw the two give up like this? This was their chance to win a battle without help from the royal family.

"You can give up all you want," Flint groaned as he slowly pushed himself back up to his feet, the Poppies breaking up their victory dance as their eyes widened, "but I'm going to keep fighting to the bitter end even if the odds are against me! That's what a true warrior does!"

Melanie's eyes widened at the sound of that. Coming from Flint, that was surprisingly inspirational. Of course, neither of them knew that Metaknight had said the same thing to Motoko when Masher attacked the kingdom.

With that, Melanie grinned, ignoring her pain as she slowly rose back to her feet. Junior and Senior both started to panic as Junior let down tears crying, "It's hopeless, isn't it!?" Senior patting his little brother on the head and saying, "No, we're still in this, bro."

With that, both pulled out bombs but failed to realize that while they were talking, Flint and Melanie had been charging at them readying to attack. Both of them started to panic as Flint kicked Junior hard into a tree and Melanie jabbed her hammer forward, ramming it hard into Senior's face and sending him tumbling across the ground.

To make matters worse for the Poppy Brothers, both had completely forgotten that they were still carrying lit bombs. As both of them recovered, the flames had burned up their fuses as Senior gulped, Junior letting down a tear as the bombs exploded.

As the smoke cleared, both were out cold, their eyes replaced by X's. Melanie and Flint both smiled at one-another, embracing each other as the pain returned, each letting go and backing away from the other.

Flint placed his hand up against a tree and knelt down, breathing heavily while weakly saying, "I knew we could do it."

Melanie shook her head at the boy, a weak smile on her face. The important thing was they had won and assisted their army.

Joe and Rocky were still waiting as Rocky turned to Joe and said, "I must say, I'm impressed. Your army's actually managed to hold them off."

"Never doubt my strategy again," Joe remarked with a confident grin.

However, his confidence left him when he saw the silhouettes of two figures. They soon ended up out in the open, revealing themselves to be Iron Mom and Jukiddo.

Iron Mom narrowed her eyes and spat, "You may have distracted my men, but you're still going to lose this war!"

Joe cracked his knuckles and said, "I don't think so," as Mom's eyes went wide, the woman's body twitching.

"You got the famous Knuckle Joe to help you!?" the woman asked with annoyance in her tone as Rocky grinned and said, "You bet. You'd best give up now."

Mom let out a sigh and replied, "I've wanted to fight Joe all my life, although it is sad that it has to be under such horrid circumstances. I was really hoping to face him in the annual fighting tournament."

"You know that's three months away, right?" Joe replied as Mom shrugged and said, "Hey, I'm a patient woman."

Jukiddo looked at her and asked, "May I please fight Rocky right now?" as the woman nodded saying, "Go ahead. I want to fight Knuckle Joe."

Joe cracked his knuckles and said, "That's fine by me," as Jukiddo leapt at Rocky, the man leaping to the side and dodging the incoming strike.

And thus it all came down to this. This battle would decide everything. Would Gluttonberg or Oro Town reign supreme? That would be answered soon enough.


	13. Chapter 13

Land of Kirby

When Spencer entered his room, Metaknight explained how the day's training would take place outside of the castle again. The two had been wandering for hours as Metaknight scoped out the land for a particular spot to train in.

"Where are we going?" Spencer asked with a hint of impatience in his tone as Metaknight patted the boy on the shoulder and replied, "Don't worry, we're almost there."

Soon enough, Metaknight's movement came to a stop as Spencer's eyes went wide. The two were in front of a large rock with a hole near the bottom. The Sword Kirby had heard legend of a cave located five miles West of New Pupupuland, but he didn't really believe it.

"This is your training," Metaknight said as Spencer asked, "What am I supposed to do in there?"

Metaknight pointed to the cave and explained, "Somewhere within this cave is a treasure that was left behind long ago by the most powerful warrior known to man, Galacta Knight. It is said to hold an ancient power that can make any sword twice as strong as before."

Spencer's eyes went wide at the sound of that as he looked at Metaknight who nodded. It was clear as day on any planet besides Dark Star that the boy had to seek out this treasure. However, the cave was said to be very dangerous and was home to some of the most powerful demons in existence. Spencer still didn't have much experience. Could he possibly pass this kind of test?

He then remembered that Metaknight was with him and said, "Well, I guess I've got nothing to lose."

"Actually..." Metaknight replied as Spencer turned to him with a scared look, "I spent a long time trying to decide whether you should take this test or not. I'm afraid that the only way the power will work for you is if you make it through the cave alone."

The kid's eyes went wide as the knight handed him a strange device. This object was shaped like a star and shone brightly. Metaknight looked deep into the boy's eyes and said, "If you find yourself unable to make it through the cave, use the Warp Star to escape."

Spencer let out a sigh, nodding to his trainer and entered the cave. This was going to be dangerous and he knew it very well. However, he dared not question Metaknight's motives. The knight only did what he knew was best. If this was how Spencer should prepare himself, then so be it. Besides, if he made it through, he would have ultimate power.

Joe charged towards Iron Mom, his fist raised as he sent a punch towards her face. However, the woman would not be taken down so easily. With that, she held up one of her spherical hands and blocked the fist, sending a punch to Joe's gut and sending him back a little ways.

Joe held onto his belly and grimaced, holding his fist back. Clearly, he needed to use strategy if he was to beat a powerhouse like Iron Mom.

As the woman held her fist back, Joe charged towards her again, his fist glowing. As he threw his hand forward shouting, "SMASH PUNCH!!!!!" Iron Mom sent out a punch of her own, her fist detaching itself from her arm as it blasted straight through the incoming energy ball and rammed hard into the spellbound Joe's face.

Joe stumbled across the ground and came to a stop, breathing heavily before spitting out a bit of blood. The boy glared at his opponent with determination. There was no way he would give up from what he viewed as a couple of lucky shots.

Jukiddo charged at Rocky as the Suplex Kirby grinned saying, "I may be cute and squishy, but I'm not an easy opponent," as the martial artist closed in on the man.

Rocky simply sent his arms out, grabbing onto Jukiddo's hips as he leapt into the air, turning his body backwards in a ninety-degree angle, ramming Jukiddo's head hard into the ground. Jukiddo cringed as he slowly climbed back to his feet, Rocky charging towards him. However, Jukiddo was ready this time.

Just as Rocky leapt towards him, arms out, Jukiddo threw his own arms forward, holding them against one-another, and rammed them hard into Rocky's face. Rather than sending the Kirby flying, though, he closed his fingers, latching them to Rocky's body as he proceeded to lean backwards, pulling his hands with him and slamming the Kirby's head hard into the ground.

Mom threw a punch towards Joe as he leapt to the side, dodging it. Iron Mom simply sent another punch his way as he rolled to the side out of harm's way. The woman fumed at the head as she threw both her fists forward.

Joe grinned wickedly at the sight of that and said, "Gotcha," leaping up into the air and over the incoming spheres and shouted, "SKY KICK!!!!!!" energy surrounding his foot as he sent it downward into Iron Mom's face, the woman's eyes closing shut as she fell on her back.

Joe grinned and said, "All that armor may protect your body, but your face is wide open."

However, the boy had completely forgotten that Mom's fists were still right behind him. When they flew back towards their owner, both rammed hard into Joe's back as his eyes went wide, the boy falling flat on his face as the fists reattached themselves to Iron Mom's arms.

Mom slowly rose to her feet, rubbing her face as she said, "That was quite clever, but I was expecting a lot more from the famous Knuckle Joe."

Joe slowly got to his feet, ignoring the pain in his back as he glared at the woman saying, "You got a few lucky shots in on me, but I'm far from finished."

Jukiddo held up his fists in a fighting stance asking, "Are you really the best this army has to offer? You are nothing more than a pathetic has-been!"

Rocky gritted his teeth and remarked, "I've only just begun to fight! You haven't seen my best yet!"

Jukiddo grinned under his karate outfit and replied, "Good, I look forward to when you actually start taking this battle me seriously."

Spencer walked down a long hallway upon entering the cave. It seemed like nothing more than a straight path here. Was this really the dangerous place legend said it was?

"This place isn't so bad," he said with a nervous smiled, "So far, I haven't been attacked or anything."

Suddenly, a portion of the ceiling started to open up as a rock came out, descending towards Spencer. The boy's eyes went wide as he quickly leapt out of the way just in time to dodge the attack as the rock sprouted a pair of legs, eyes and a blue headband. This was known as a Rocky.

Soon enough, more portions of the wall opened up as more Rockies fell from the ceiling, landing before the Sword Kirby with battle-hungry looks in their eyes.

Spencer gulped and pulled out his blade, a look of confidence on his face. If he was to become a true swordsman, he had to show courage even when the odds were against him. While it was true Rockies had strong defensive properties, they could still take in damage from swords.

"VULCAN JAB!!!!" Joe shouted sending an onslaught of punches towards Iron Mom as she held her fists in front of her face, blocking the incoming blows. Joe her right where he wanted her as ran towards her, continuing to shoot energy balls at a rapid pace.

Iron Mom continued to shield herself with her spherical fists as Joe closed in one her, continuing to punch at her repeatedly. Mom's eyes went wide as the force of Joe's punches against her fists had caused her feet to start sliding across the ground, the woman heading back-first into a tree. Armor or not, she did feel a slight pain from the collision as she separated her fists, leaving her face wide open.

"SMASH PUNCH!!!!" Joe yelled as he punched her hard in the face, his fist pressing up against her flesh. The front of the woman's face started to bleed as she groaned in pain, still standing.

Joe grinned, seeing this as the perfect opportunity to get her as he sent a series of rapid-paced punches to her face. There was nothing Iron Mom could do against the assault now. She was as good as beat.

Jukiddo reached his arms out to grab his opponent, but every time he tried, Rocky would leap to the side, dodging the attack with ease. The martial artist scowled, feeling incredibly annoyed right now, as he attempted to grab the Kirby once more only for Rocky to leap over his hands above Jukiddo's head.

Jukiddo's eyes went wide when Rocky flipped his body over, performing a handstand on the black belt's head. He grinned and said, "You lose," flipping his body over while lifting Jukiddo over his head. The martial artist was completely defenseless as his back was slammed hard against the ground, the man wincing in agony while Rocky stood tall and proud, flexing his muscles shouting, "Who's the man now!?"

As Joe continued his assault, Iron Mom groaned in pain, her right hand slowly detaching from its arm. It then swerved to the side of Joe before reeling itself inward, ramming itself hard into the kid's cheek. Joe's eyes went wide as blood flew from his mouth, the boy flying sideways before rolling along the grass. As Joe slowly climbed to his feet, coughing up a bit of blood and scowling at his opponent, he already knew he'd lost when the woman sent another hard punch to his face, knocking the boy onto his back.

Joe just lay there motionless as Iron Mom blinked, her eyes going wide as a tear ran down her face, the woman uttering, "I just defeated the legendary Knuckle Joe..."

She then rose her spherical hands in the air shouting, "I'VE DEFEATED KNUCKLE JOE!!!!" with joy in her expression. Clearly this was a special day for her.

While Rocky continued to pose, Jukiddo slowly placed his hands against the ground, rising back to his feet as he glared at the Kirby, fire in his eyes as he snapped, "I will not lose to a pig!" placing his hands against the sides of Rocky's body, the man's eyes going wide.

"You have proven yourself to be a worthy opponent," the black belt said, "but now you will suffer the taste of defeat."

With that, he lifted up his fists, sending it hard into Rocky's face multiple times. He then proceeded to hurl the Kirby hard into the ground as Rocky lay there, eyes swirling.

Flint and Melanie arrived just in time along with the soldiers who hadn't been badly wounded during the battle as their eyes went wide. The two commanders of the war had been defeated. This meant that Iron Mom and her army had won. Legally, there was nothing they could do as long as their leaders had been defeated.

"No..." Michael uttered as Sam hung her head in shame. She couldn't believe that her own trainer had been beaten so badly. Melody simply smiled, proud of herself for at least helping while Basil and Jason embraced each other, letting down tears of grief.

Flint and Melanie both shook their heads. Their victory over the Poppy Brothers had been in vain.

Joe slowly pushed himself up breathing heavily and resting on his knees. He looked down towards the ground with a look of acceptance on his face. He had lost and that was that. Part of the warrior code of honor was to accept when it was all over, and now was that time.

Rocky simply let down tears crying, "Even with the help of Knuckle Joe's super powerful army, we still lost!"

Iron Mom walked over to the Kirby, lifted him up by his headband while the others could do nothing more than watch as she looked deep into his eyes and snapped, "For our demands, you will return every piece of food your king ordered you to steal from us!"

"TORMENT ME ALL YOU LIKE, BUT YOU'LL NEVER GET IT BACK!!!!!" Rocky spat much to Mom's dismay.

However, the others were silent. They simply stared with their eyes wide open at Rocky as the Kirby struggled for dear life. Joe then ignored all the pain in his body and rose to his feet, storming towards Rocky and making a 'give him to me' gesture with his hand.

Iron Mom was hesitant at first, but the look in his eyes showed he wasn't going to do anything against the law. With that, she handed Rocky over to Joe as Rocky let down tears of joy crying, "Thank you so much!"

However, his gratitude soon came to a halt when Joe rose his fist, punching the Gluttonberg captain hard in the face. The Suplex Kirby rolled across the ground into the castle's steps as Joe growled, fury in his eyes. The others simply gasped at the sight of that.

Joe marched over to the Kirby who lay there trembling from the pain asking, "W-w-what are you doing?"

Joe lifted him up a second time by his headband and spat, "YOU MEAN THIS WAR STARTED ALL BECAUSE YOUR GREEDY KING WANTED ALL OF ORO TOWN'S FOOD FOR HIMSELF!!!!!!!??"

From that perspective, Joe's actions actually made sense now. Nevertheless, it was unfair that Rocky had to suffer for his ruler's own decisions. But in a sense, it was partly his fault for obeying the command in the first place.

Jukiddo smiled under his karate uniform, a sense of respect for Knuckle Joe forming within him. Clearly, the kid had good priorities unlike the soldiers of Gluttonberg Kingdom.

Joe stormed toward the castle and grumbled, "I'm going to give that king a piece of my mind..." however, at that exact moment, his pain returned as Flint ran over, preventing the kid from collapsing as Melody folded her arms grumbling, "Kiss up..."

Sam placed a hand on Joe's head and said, "Don't worry. We'll negotiate," as Joe glared at Rocky and used the last ounce of his strength to shout, "ALL OF THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED IF YOU'D JUST LEFT THEIR FOOD STASH ALONE!!!!!"

As the fighters took Joe into the castle to have his injuries treated, Iron Mom blushed. She'd never felt this way about a man before. Was this that feeling known as... love?

Spencer had been fighting the Rockies for almost twenty minutes, and they still hadn't let up despite his best efforts. Two of them had been cracked open, but most of them were still standing while Spencer was starting to feel exhausted.

"Why did I think I could defeat stones with a blade?" he wined as the Rockies charged towards him.

No, Spencer couldn't give up now. He had to win this battle. With that in mind, he shifted his body around and sent his blade hard into stone demons' faces, the force of the blade knocking them onto their heads, the stones unable to get up.

Spencer breathed a sigh of relief, a proud smile on his face. However, his smile faded when the rocks started to bounce their heads up and down against the ground. The Sword Kirby started to panic when the ground surrounding him and the Rockies started to crack. Soon, a large hole formed as he and the Rockies fell to their doom.

Spencer then remembered he had the Warp Star given to him by Metaknight. Now seemed like the perfect time to use it, but when he tried, his head hit the cold hard ground below, a bit of his head opening up as blood poured out. Was this it? Was Spencer dead?

The Gluttonberg and Oro Town feud had ended as Sam convinced the king and queen to provide Iron Mom's troops with more than what was stolen from them. See, being selfish pigs, the Kirbies of Gluttonberg had eaten three quarters of the food that they had stolen. As such, they had to give an equal portion of what they had taken while also returning the remaining quarter.

Iron Mom was quite pleased with the offer and called off her troops, all of them returning to Oro Town to recover. The battle had been long and fierce but in the end, they had won and that was all that mattered.

Rocky and Joe were both in hospital beds as Joe sighed, "Well, at least I'll be able to make it back in time for dinner."

"Look, I'm sorry about all of this," Rocky groaned, "I'm starting to think maybe this obsession we have with eating might actually be unhealthy."

"What tipped you off?" Joe retorted as Rocky let out a light chuckle saying, "See, since Kirbies have infinite space in their stomachs, we figured it would be fine to eat all we pleased. After all, we can't get sick from overeating. But seeing it turn into a war... I don't want that anymore."

Joe let out a sigh of relief as he turned to the Kirby with a smile stating, "I'm glad you've learned your lesson, but has the king?"

"Well, I do plan to sort this out with him," Rocky replied, "King or not, he needs to realize that all we're doing is wasting the world's resources. We should only eat what we need to eat."

Spencer had been out cold for a half-hour, the wound on his head starting to clear up. His body started to twitch as he slowly rose to his feet, rubbing his skull and looking around him. His eyes went wide when he saw fragments of rock scattered about and that he was now in another area all together.

"I'm not dead..." he said with a sigh of relief as he fell backward, laughing while tears of joy ran down his face.

Spencer had survived a potentially deadly fall. This was truly nothing short of a miracle. But was it really worth it to continue his journey through the cave? The boy was exhausted and his head was still bleeding. Maybe now was a good time to give up.

"Well, I tried my best, Metaknight," he said pulling out the star as it expanded in size, the boy standing atop it, "but unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it very far."

The star rose up, carrying the boy out of the pit and flew him back towards the entrance. Metaknight was standing there waiting patiently when he saw Spencer exit the cave.

"You're already done?" the knight asked as Spencer nodded saying, "I'm not ready for this test, Metaknight. I could barely deal with an army of Rockies."

Metaknight let out a sigh and said, "I shouldn't have expected so much of you. I'm sorry for putting your life in danger like that."

"No, I think I could do it," Spencer replied, "I just need more training."

With that, both headed back towards the castle, Metaknight nodding in agreement. Perhaps Spencer was right. Maybe he could try again later when his skills improved. Either way, he'd lived through the experience and that was all that mattered.

Upon returning to her kingdom, Iron Mom had immediately called a meeting. Everyone was rather confused. This wasn't something the woman normally did after a war. Usually, she would rest up and regain her strength before doing anything else.

Everyone was gathered in the training gym as it was the largest room in the castle. After all, Oro Town was just a town, so they didn't have nearly enough room for a normal-sized castle. What mattered was that it was big enough to hold a good percentage of the population.

Iron Mom stood on a stage behind a podium and held up a microphone with legs and a mouth known as a Walkie. She held it up to where he mouth was hidden by her armor and said, "Everyone, I'm going away for a short while. In my absence, Jukiddo will take over as your instructor."

This caused an uproar among her subjects as Jukiddo's eyes went wide, Poppy Bros. Junior scratching his head asking, "What's she talking about, big brother?" Senior shaking his head and replying, "I don't know."

This was truly a shock to everyone. Iron Mom had never left her subjects behind for any of her trips.

"What is this all about?" Jukiddo asked, "It's not like there's another war involving us."

Iron Mom nodded and explained, "I am taking a short trip by myself to New Pupupuland. The reason you're not coming is because this is a personal matter."

The subjects once again started to talk amongst themselves as Jukiddo had a worried look on his face. He wasn't exactly the kind who gave orders or led people to glory. This had to be a mistake.

"With all due respect," Jukiddo asked, "what business do you have in New Pupupuland? It's not good to keep secrets, you know."

Iron Mom let out a sigh and said, "Yes, you're right."

She then held the microphone-like creature up to her face, Walkie grumbling, "This is abuse. There's no other word for it," as the woman stated, "I have met someone who made me feel a way I never thought I would ever feel. That boy is Knuckle Joe. Even though we're two years apart, me an adult and him still in his teens, I can just feel that we're meant to be together. As such, I intend to ask for his hand in marriage."

The subjects gasped at the sound of that, some of them letting out an 'Aw' sound. Iron Mom's heart was meant to belong to her kingdom, not to one of the opposite gender. This just felt wrong to most of them.

"Are you sure about this?" Jukiddo asked as Iron Mom nodded saying, "I know it's hard to believe, but I have found true love. You don't have to like it, you just have to accept it. I am in love with Knuckle Joe and nothing will change that."

The Poppy Brothers nodded to one-another as Senior leapt towards the woman and said, "Don't you know romance doesn't work that way?"

"Besides," Junior stated leaping to the other side of her, "it's against the law for an adult to marry a teenager. You have to wait another year until it's okay."

"I hadn't thought of that," Iron Mom replied as the two patted her on the shoulders, ignoring the pain that came from touching her spiked shoulder guards while Senior stated, "It's okay. You're new to the whole romance thing."

"Luckily, it can work in your favor," Junior stated as Iron Mom turned to him and asked, "Really?"

"You betcha," Senior replied, giving the woman a noogie, "Luckily, you can legally date him, and besides, that's the best way to go about this. You can't just expect a guy like Knuckle Joe to accept your hand in marriage until you get to know him."

"But how long will that take?" the woman replied as the brothers both laughed and said together, "By his birthday, he'll most likely have fallen for you."

It was decided. Before heading off to New Pupupuland, Iron Mom needed to be taught how to behave like a lady. After all, she'd been a brutish fighter her whole life. Now was the time for her to learn the basics of romance.


	14. Chapter 14

Land of Kirby

Miles from New Pupupuland in a swamp were four elemental Kirbies, Purazuma, Houka, Koori and Tatsumaki. All four of them were exhausted from the hours spent walking and worst of all, the swamp water made their feet wet.

Purazuma had a look of fear in her eyes as she asked, "Are we going to be out of this place any time soon? This water is building up my plasma energy at a really fast rate."

Koori started to panic at the sound of that, clinging to Houka and shouting, "Don't hit me with any of that!" Houka rolling his eyes and throwing the Ice Kirby off of him and face-first into a puddle.

"You guys complain too much," Houka stated folding his arms as Tatsumaki nodded and said, "For once, I agree with the hothead."

Houka glared at the Tornado Kirby who simply ignored him and walked past him, the others following close behind. The Fire Kirby felt envious of the girl. When was it going to be his turn to have authority and respect?

As the group continued forward, Tatsumaki's eyes widened as her eyes darted back and forth. Koori was about to ask what was going on when she held her hand up against his mouth, shushing him. Purazuma started to tremble as Houka grinned confidently, more than ready for whatever was coming their way.

Purazuma and Koori both screamed in terror, embracing one-another when a large snake-like creature slithered out from behind the bushes towards them. This snake had spikes going down its back along with two arms with what looked like fans attached to its wrists.

"What is that thing!?" Koori spat as Houka grinned wickedly saying, "It's a Fan Snake," Tatsumaki slapping her forehead and saying, "That's called a Tornadon, you idiot."

Houka grinned as he said, "Well, to me, it's just target practice," as his cheeks puffed up, his mouth opening as flames shot towards the serpent.

The Tornadon let out a battle cry as the fans around its wrists started to spin, the wind from each forming into a twister. With that, the demon pointed its arms towards Houka, burning out the flames and sending him flying into a tree.

Koori and Purazuma were both frightened beyond belief as Tatsumaki glared at the beast, spinning her body around and transforming into her twister state. The Tornadon simply shot a series of tornadoes towards her, but her wind ended up being far too powerful for the onslaught. With that, Tatsumaki passed through the tornadoes as they vanished, ramming her tornado hard into Tornadon's chin as it flew back a ways.

"WAY TO GO!!!" Koori exclaimed while his eyes sparkled, Purazuma breathing a sigh of relief.

However, when Tatsumaki went in to deliver another blow, Tornadon's fans started to spin forming two more twisters. However, unlike last time, the demon was ready for this as it combined the wind together creating tornado twice the size of one, sending it towards Tatsumaki. The Tornado Kirby was powerless against this as the tornado canceled out her form, picking her up and spinning her around before flinging her hard into the ground,swamp water smeared all over her face.

Purazuma and Koori were frightened now. With Houka and Tatsumaki out cold, what could they possibly do? Was Tornadon too powerful?

Suddenly, Koori's eyes went wide as the Ice Kirby turned to the Plasma and asked, "You said water was building up your electricity, right?"

Purazuma nodded with a look of confusion as Koori grinned and pointed at Tornadon saying, "You must have full power now."

The girl understood now as she nodded and threw her hand out, a large burst of electricity headed towards Tornadon. The demon's eyes went wide as the electricity hit it hard in the face, sparks surroundings its body as it cried out in pain.

With that, Koori gave the Plasma Kirby thumbs up, or he would have had he fingers. He then proceeded to open his mouth sending ice into the swamp water as a block of ice formed. As Tornadon shook the pain off, its eyes went wide once more as a huge green block of ice hit him hard in the forehead, the serpent's eyes swirling as its fell on its side with a loud thud.

Tatsumaki forced her head out of the mud and spat up some of it staring at the Plasma and Ice Kirby asking, "Did you two do all that?"

Koori and Purazuma looked at one-another and blinked as Koori said, "She's right. We just defeated the demon together."

With that, the two laughed triumphantly embracing one-another as Houka, who had recovered a few seconds ago, grimaced and folded his arms. Would he never get the recognition he felt he deserved?

Back at New Pupupuland, it was time for dinner and unlike yesterday, everyone was present today. In the kitchen, Kawasaki had a nervous look on his face as he started to tremble. He had spent the last few hours preparing himself for this moment. It was time to see if his cooking would get the same results as last time.

Misa placed a hand on his back and said, "Stop being such a worrywart. I'm sure you did fine this time around."

Kawasaki gulped as the others looked at him with uncertainty. At least he wasn't serving the king this time.

As everyone assembled for dinner, Spencer sat between Flint and Melanie asking, "How did your mission go?"

Flint let out a sigh and groaned, "It was a waste of time," as Melanie smiled saying, "It wasn't a total loss. After all, we defeated the Poppy Brothers, right?"

Of course, the only reason Melanie was feeling confident about this was because she felt that perhaps Metaknight would finally recognize her talent. However, as predicted, Metaknight had gone off to his room to eat, Melanie letting out a sigh. Perhaps the girl could tell him about her battle later.

Joe let out a sigh as a plate was placed in front of him saying, "Man, going to war sure builds up an appetite," as Parm turned to the boy and asked, "I say, I'd completely forgotten about that. How did that go for you?"

Joe let out a sigh along with some of his fighters and replied, "I'd much rather not talk about it," his eye twitching.

Could one blame him? The entire war had been pointless and throughout the whole thing, Joe had been assisting the wrong side. Of course he was disappointed.

Memu picked up a small bit of fish with her fork and held it up, sniffing it. She smiled at the nice aroma it gave off, placing her lips around the fork and picking up the piece of fish, gulping it down.

"How is it, mom?" Fumu asked as the queen smiled saying, "It's good, dear."

When dinner ended, the subjects and royal family retreated to their rooms except for Joe who walked over to Flint and Melanie requesting a word with the two of them. Both looked at one-another, blinking with confusion, but shrugged and followed him. After all, they couldn't go against Knuckle Joe's word. He was their trainer.

Joe took the two into the gym, which was empty due to Joe dismissing the other fighters so they could rest. After leading the Kirbies into the back room, he walked over to a small cabinet somewhere in the corner of a room, pulling open one of the drawers.

"I didn't know we had a cabinet in here," Melanie said, blinking as Flint shrugged and said, "I don't think I ever saw it before."

Joe placed the two objects he's pulled out of the cabinet into his pockets and turned to the others, folding his arms and saying, "I've called you both here to discuss your efforts during that war."

Both of them were shocked to hear this. Both felt they'd performed very well. What would Joe possibly have to discuss with them concerning that?

A grin crossed the boy's face as he said, "I heard that you two defeated the Poppy Brothers by yourselves, is that true?"

Both nodded as Joe walked over to them, pulling the small objects out of his pockets. The two Kirbies stared, eyes sparkling at the sight of this. These were hero medals. Very few ever received these.

Joe placed one around Melanie's body followed by Flint's and said, "You've both earned these. This was your first war and the two of you managed to defeat two of Oro Town's most powerful fighters."

The boy then rubbed his invisible nostrils as the two Kirbies looked at one-another, then at Joe then down at their medals and grinned. Both of them embraced one-another and held the embrace before realizing what they were doing and quickly backed away from one-another, laughing nervously. Nonetheless, today was a very special day for the two of them.

While the chefs started their break for the day, Kawasaki had a nervous look on his face. What if he'd messed up again? He knew he'd be kicked out of the kingdom for sure this time.

At that moment, a Waddle Dee had run into the kitchen holding a scroll in his hand. Everyone gathered around, knowing that this was the day's review for the meal. As usual, Goan took no interest as this wasn't about his master cooking. When would it be his turn to serve the king again?

Misa slowly opened up the scroll and cleared her throat reading aloud, "Today's meal was enjoyable, much better than yesterday's. Although I am a bit jealous that my darling wife got slightly better food than I did."

One of the Doos shrugged and asked, "Who was cooking for the queen?" as a female Cappy placed a hand on Kawasaki's shoulder, the chef blushing as she said, "I believe it was the new guy, wasn't it?"

Everyone's eyes went wide as they gathered around the chef. A female Waddle Doo blinked and said, "I've never heard of a chef making nearly as much progress as you did in the course of a day."

"Well, looks like we got us another master here," said a male Cappy, laughing as Kawasaki smiled nervously, chuckling while asking, "Am I really that good?"

With that, all of the chefs crowded around the man as Misa gave Kawasaki a warm smile. It seemed her job had been done. Kawasaki was now the good cook he'd always wanted to be.

However, Goan wasn't so happy to see this as he scowled at the young chef. He was used to the others not talking to him. After all, it was in his nature to be anti-social. However, to see that has-been getting more respect than him was an insult to his skills. It seemed that maybe Goan needed to step things up a notch.

After twenty minutes of praise, everyone retreated from the kitchen to their rooms. They needed to rest up now while Misa cleaned up the kitchen.

As she started to wipe the top of the stove with a wet cloth, Kawasaki slowly walked over to her, his hands behind his back as he smiled and said, "Misa, I can't thank you enough for all you've done for me."

The female Kirby chuckled and said, "It was no problem, Kawasaki. It was my pleasure to finally teach someone for a change. Just about everyone here started out good enough to be independent. You're the first who ever needed my help."

"And that doesn't bother you?" the male chef replied, blinking while Misa nodded and took off the burners, wiping up the dust underneath saying, "It felt good to finally have someone I could share my methods with."

Misa's eyes went wide when Kawasaki placed his hands against her sides, lifting her up and embracing her in a tight hug. The girl laughed as the chef placed her back down saying, "Sorry about that. I was caught up in the moment."

Misa smiled at him and said, "No worries," as Kawasaki bowed to her and headed off towards the kitchen's exit. Today was the best day of Kawasaki's life and he didn't want any of it to end.

Meanwhile, Goan was pacing around his room with a look of fury in his eyes under his sunglasses. How could he be upstaged by a wannabe? This just didn't make sense to him. Kawasaki was just a beginner while he was a master chef. While he had most likely created a masterpiece, Kawasaki had made a meal which was only good enough to be classified as slightly better than that of a Waddle Dee. That wasn't worth more praise than one of Goan's meals. Besides, this man was the only chef in the kitchen who could even outdo the head chef, Misa.

It was true that he had no friends in the kitchen, but he at least had the most respect from the others. Everyone had envied him and wished they could cook just like he could. It had always given him a feeling of self-worth. But now he had competition, a new guy who had made the king vomit on his first day on the job.

There was no way Kawasaki would get away with this. In one way or another, Goan was going to get his revenge, and he knew exactly how to take care of the young chef, a wicked grin forming.

Metaknight finished his dinner a while after everyone else had. He couldn't help thinking about Spencer right now. He'd had a feeling that the Sword Kirby wouldn't make it far, but he didn't think it would be as bad as it was. All he could do now was wonder when it would be a good time to let the boy try the cave test again, if ever.

Metaknight picked up his plate and exited his room, carrying it to the dining table so the servants would pick it up to be cleaned. After all, it wasn't like the castle had unlimited plates. As he entered the kitchen, he noticed Melanie walking towards the door with a look of confidence on her face.

"Hello," he said as Melanie turning to him, her cheeks turning red at the sight of her hero. Oh, how she wanted to tell Metaknight all of her secrets, but it wasn't in her nature to be forward about those kinds of things.

Metaknight noticed a golden object around her neck and said, "I see Knuckle Joe gave you a hero medal," as Melanie gave the knight a proud smile saying, "Yep, he said I was a great asset to the army today."

Metaknight nodded, smiling under his mask as he said, "Well, that's good to hear," then he gave her a look of suspicion asking, "Where are you headed?"

Melanie grimaced in response to this and said, "Now that I know I can do it, I'm going back to the Whispy Woods to get my revenge on that talking tree there!"

Metaknight's eyes went wide at the sound of that. The green female wasn't referring to Whispy Woods, was she?

"Did you say talking tree?" he asked as Melanie nodded, winking at him and saying, "I'm going to give Whispy Woods a piece of my mind."

Metaknight quickly leapt in front of her, placing his hands on her shoulders and staring into her eyes as the girl blushed, the knight saying, "Be careful out there, Melanie. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

Well, at least that's what Melanie envisioned him saying in her mind. However, the real conversation went a little bit differently. Metaknight did, indeed, leap in front of her. He also placed his hands on her shoulders and looked deep into her eyes. However, his look and words were different.

The knight narrowed his eyelids and said, "Don't pick a fight with Whispy Woods!"

"Don't worry, I can handle it," Melanie replied as the man shook his head and remarked, "Whispy is the guardian of the forest. If he dies, so does the forest. All the trees will wither away and all of the animals living there will die."

Melanie's eyes went wide at the sound of that. Defeating Whispy would have been a terrible mistake. Perhaps revenge just wasn't worth it.

As she watched Metaknight leave the dining hall, she looked down and sighed. She hadn't impressed the knight in the slightest. She'd only disappointed him with such thoughts.

Meanwhile, Kawasaki was in his room looking at an old picture of Oosaka and said, "If you could see me now, you'd be proud."

Memories of his training with Oosaka returned to the boy. He remembered how the man used to hit him with a frying pan every time he'd mess up or how the master chef would toss his food in the trash.

"I usually believe in waste not want not," he would say, "but this is an exception."

The young chef sighed and placed the picture down, his eyes going wide when he heard a sound. He quickly turned towards the source noticing a letter in front of his door. Someone had slipped him a note, but who?

He picked it up as his eyes went wide, his jaw dropped as the letter said the following:

"Dear Kawasaki,

You have improved more than anyone else here. As such, I have decided to present to you the culinary medal of honor. Please come to the kitchen immediately to pick it up.

Sincerely,

Misa"

Kawasaki's heart started to beat as a grin crossed his face. This day just kept getting better and better. The chef had never felt so happy before in his life.

He happily ran off to the kitchen but was surprised to see no one there. The chef scratched his head and asked, "What's going on?" as the door to the back room opened up. Kawasaki blinked as who should emerge from the room but Monsieur Goan?

The chef grinned wickedly at him saying, "Heure de mourir, Monsieur Kawasaki." (1)

Kawasaki blinked, unsure of what the head chef had just said, as Goan laughed wickedly, his body starting to transform. The young chef's eyes went wide as Goan's body became taller, his outfit growing along with it while the upper half of his body was unclothed. The arms attached to his clothes vanished, being replaced by six arms that surrounded his exposed upper body. One hand was holding a beater, another holding a spatula. Another arm wielded a rolling pin while another held onto a meat hammer. His last two weapons were a spoon and a butcher knife.

Kawasaki couldn't believe what he was seeing. Monsieur Goan had been a demon this whole time and no one had known up to this point. The worst part was that Kawasaki had no way to defend himself against such a threat.

Goan grinned wickedly, turning his beater on as he said in a wicked tone, "Vous n'êtes pas un chef vrai." (2)

The cook's eyes when the demon sent his meat hammer towards him, Kawasaki quickly running to the side as the hammer rammed into the ground. Goan grimaced and sent his spatula towards Kawasaki, the young chef ducking under it only to take a blow to the chest from the monster's rolling pin.

Kawasaki groaned in pain as Goan proceeded to hit him hard in the forehead with his spoon. He then placed the beater up against the young chef's chest, Kawasaki's body spinning around before a shock wave erupted, sending him hard into one of the cabinets.

As Kawasaki sat there, his head hung low with helplessness, Goan laughed wickedly while lifting up his butcher knife. Perhaps Kawasaki just wasn't meant to enjoy life.

However, much to both of their surprise, Misa had entered the kitchen to give it one last inspection to make sure it was perfectly clean. Her eyes went wide, her body frozen as she saw a large demon that resembled the top chef looming over her student.

Goan blinked and grimaced, hurling his knife towards the girl as her eyes went wide, Kawasaki holding her hand out toward her shouting, "MISA!!!!!!"

Seconds before it hit, however, Misa pulled out a frying pan as the knife lodged itself into the metal material. With that, the woman breathed a sigh of relief, Kawasaki wiping sweat from his forehead while the head chef pried the knife out of her frying pan and threw it into the wall.

"Monsieur Goan, you're fired!" she spat as the demon gritted his teeth, fury in his eyes.

How dare she fire him, the top chef? Misa must have been insane to make such a rash decision. Why, Goan had never been more insulted in all his life.

With that, he lunged towards Misa, forgetting about Kawasaki. If anything, she was more of a threat to him than the newcomer could ever be. Besides, if he did away with her now, he could become the new head chef and all would be under his command. With his power, he could fire the entire staff and make everyone's meal, finally getting all the recognition and good reviews he so rightly deserved.

Misa did all she could against the menace, using the best skills she new with a frying pan, but all of that came to an end when Goan knocked the frying pan out of her grasp, Misa trembling wit fear. Was this how it would end?

That question was soon answered when Goan felt something shatter against his back. He gritted his teeth, turning towards Kawasaki who held up a dinner plate saying, "This next one's going straight for your head!"

Goan glared at the man with more fury in his eyes than ever before. Misa wanted so much to stop Kawasaki, but right now, she had no say in the matter. She'd lost her one defense against the demon.

Kawasaki hurled the second plate towards Goan's skull as the chef angrily held up his meat hammer, shattering the dish into many pieces. But Kawasaki was not quite done yet, and this showed when he opened up the cabinet, pulling out a series of knives and hurling them toward Goan's face.

The demon simply grimaced and used his amazing skills to knock them aside, however, he had forgotten one simple fact: his butcher knife was gone. As such, when he attempted to block a knife with the top right hand, he ended up being pierced instead. Blood squirting from his hand as he cried out in pain, a hole forming in his glove.

Kawasaki blinked, his look of shock soon turning into laughter. He couldn't believe that he had actually caused a demon to bleed. This day just kept getting better and better.

However, Misa wasn't quite as enthusiastic about this. All this sort of thing would do was anger Goan further. Kawasaki was even more at risk than before.

This showed when Goan rammed send all of his weapons forward, Kawasaki started to panic as he leapt to the side only to have the rolling pin rammed into his waist. He backed up a little in pain, now with nothing to defend himself with.

Suddenly, the man remembered something he'd brought with him: a frying pan given to him by Oosaka before he'd left the cooking school. How could he forget something so important.

"I can feel the passion within you," Oosaka said on that day, "but you'll never become a real chef if you stay here any longer."

With that, he gave Kawasaki a frying pan with a star on the bottom saying, "I know you have what it takes to be great. You just need to find your calling. It's not here, I can tell you that."

"What do you mean?" the young chef remarked as Oosaka folded his seal fin-shaped arms and replied, "Don't give up hope, kid. Keep searching until you find the one place where you can truly learn the art of being a master chef."

Kawasaki sniffed and let down tears asking, "What's with the frying pan, thought?" as Oosaka said, "I feel it's better off in your hands than mine."

Kawasaki pulled out the pan, fury in his eyes as Goan leapt towards him, sending his weapons towards the young cook. Kawasaki pressed a button on the side of the handle as it started to expand in size, the blunt end of the pan ramming hard into Goan's face. The young chef's eyes went wide.

'Did I just do that?' he thought as Goan's teeth fell out, the demon tilting backwards and landing hard against the floor. Goan had been defeated and thus the kingdom was safe.

Misa let down tears, a smile on her face as she ran over to Kawasaki and embraced him shouting, "You are truly amazing!"

The young chef blushed and let down a tear of his own thinking, 'You saved my life, Oosaka.'

And with that, the kingdom took care of Goan. What they had done was confidential, but at least he was gone from the kingdom for good. Misa and Kawasaki were both rather surprised that the king bought their story despite Goan returning to his original form after the battle had ended, but at least it was over.

Authors note: Here are the translations:

Time to die, Mister Kawasaki

You are not a true chef


	15. Chapter 15

Land of Kirby

As everyone slept, Motoko was once again headed towards her usual spot, but unlike all the other times, she felt ready for Yamikage. Tonight she would at least beat him. If it hadn't been for that man, she would have gotten what she wanted from the start. All of this conflict was the male ninja's fault and she was sticking to that story.

Motoko had taken extreme precautions for him this time around. During her training, she had developed a lot more stealth. As such, she'd managed to plant traps all over the ceiling leading to the door so Yamikage wouldn't be able to sneak about like he usually did. There was nothing stopping her this time.

As predicted, the silhouette of the male crawling along the ceiling could be seen. Motoko grinned as Yamikage placed his hand up against a particular spot of the ceiling, a tiny explosive going off. The man's eyes widened as his hand started to bleed, Yamikage falling towards the floor as Motoko leapt at him, kicking him hard in the back.

Yamikage rolling around the ground, stopping the trip with his feet and turned around, glaring at the ninja woman. The man folded his arms and said, "As I predicted, you have become a far greater threat than before. I have to admit, that was very impressive. You actually managed to hit me."

"Don't think it's over just yet," Motoko said with a devious grin, "I've got a lot more where that came from."

The male ninja's eyes glowed red as he charged at the woman with is blade out. Motoko pulled out her own and blocked the incoming blow before using her free hand to pull out two daggers and throw them into Yamikage's feet.

The male ninja's eyes went wide as his feet started to bleed, the man trying his best to ignore it. However, even he couldn't ignore the pain as Motoko held her blade up above her head and said, "You have been a thorn on my side for too long."

But as she sent the blade down, a light surrounded the ninja's body as he vanished. The girl grimaced thinking, 'I was hoping he wouldn't use that cheap Terepo-to Jutsu again!'

The male ninja had once again escaped, and yet Motoko felt satisfied. She had actually beaten him. She herself had given the man a reason to escape. And with that, no one was around to stop her... at least to the best of her knowledge.

As she walked over to the door, pulling out her dagger to use as a key, she gasped when a pair of hands wrapped themselves around her waste. The owner then leapt into the air, performing a back flip before ramming her head into the ground, Motoko's war helmet shattering on impact.

As the pieces spread out around the woman, Motoko slowly rose to her feet with her eyes wide open as Yamikage stood in front of the door saying, "Did you honestly think I would run away because of you? You may have done some damage to me, but you're still far from my level."

Motoko let out a sigh of disappointment as she lowered her head, letting down tears. It was all over for her. Yamikage had won. He had gotten the key to ultimate power and no one was around to stop him. But why? Normally, someone would come along and interfere. It was one thing for the royal guards not to show their faces, but even Metaknight hadn't detected him this time around.

As Yamikage reached his dagger towards the keyhole, his eyes went wide as he leapt upward, a certain knight leaping towards the spot he was originally standing in. Metaknight's eyes went wide as Yamikage descended, planting his feet into the man's back and knocking him to the ground.

"Nice try, but I knew you would interfere," Yamikage said with a grin as he placed the dagger into the keyhole, turning it and unlocking the door.

Motoko couldn't believe her eyes. Even Metaknight wasn't able to stop him this time around. He could have easily gotten Yamikage off of him had the man not increased his weight like he had the first time he fought Motoko.

Yamikage laughed wickedly as Motoko rose to her feet and hurled a dagger at him. The male let out a sigh and turned his body around, knocking it to the side with his sword. The ninja woman knelt down on her arms and the top of her feet, a look of sadness in her eyes. No matter what she did, Motoko just couldn't defeat Yamikage.

Metaknight felt even more ashamed of himself, not to mention helpless. He couldn't believe that he'd lost to Yamikage so easily. How could he forgive himself for that.

Yamikage opened up the door as his eyes went wide. His arms lowered, his jaw dropped under his mask and his eyes twitching. He couldn't believe his eyes.

"No..." he said shaking his head in disbelief, "I refuse to accept this."

Metaknight slowly turned his gaze into the room, a look of shock on his face. Motoko's eyes also went wide, her jaw dropping. This had to be a sick joke.

In a glass box placed atop a pedestal in the green room was a lollipop, a simple everyday lollipop. Yamikage rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. There was no way this was the key to ultimate power.

Metaknight let out a sigh and said, "It figures. The king always had an odd sweet tooth. I guess that's why he hardly told anyone about this."

Motoko was still speechless as Yamikage growled, a vein forming on his forehead as he angrily spat, "I WENT THROUGH ALL THAT TROUBLE FOR A PIECE OF CANDY!!!!!??"

A light surrounded his body as he vanished, Metaknight slowly rising to his feet. He and Motoko still couldn't believe this. Why would King Parm be guarding something so common? Parm was always a strange character, but even this was ridiculous for him.

"I can't believe that all this time, our kingdom has been protecting a lollipop," Metaknight said with a sigh, Motoko turning to him and saying, "I think he owes us an explanation."

While Metaknight didn't like the idea of questioning his royal highness, he had to admit that Motoko was right. For Parm to lie about something like that was unforgivable. He'd stressed out the kingdom's top officials and gotten them worked up over a piece of candy. Had he not claimed it to be some kind of ultimate power, perhaps beings like Yamikage wouldn't have had any interest in it.

Soon enough, morning came and everyone awoke for breakfast. Even Motoko had arrived on time. The ninja woman glared at Parm as she took a bite of toast. Spencer and Melanie both looked at her expression and shrugged. Motoko was a hard woman to figure out, anyway.

While gulping down an egg, Joe briefly shudders as Michael turned to him and asked, "What's wrong?" Joe gulping and saying, "I just had a very disturbing thought."

After a while, breakfast was over and everyone left. Melanie and Flint left to go train while Spencer went off to the sword training area for training with Metaknight.

Motoko followed the king and queen down the hallway with a look of determination. She knew that without an invite or a recommendation from Fumu, she wouldn't be allowed in their chambers. She needed to get Parm into a conversation before he entered his room.

Parm walked down the hall by his wife, unaware of the ninja trailing behind. As he approached the door, being the chivalrous man that he was, he opened the door letting Memu in first. Just as he was about to follow, Motoko whipped out a small string, tying it around his foot and pulling hard on it, knocking him to the ground.

"Good heavens!" the man exclaimed as Motoko leapt in front of him, the king blinked and asking, "Miss Motoko, do you know who just assaulted me?"

"No, I don't," the ninja fibbed as she untied the string from his leg and helped him back up saying, "Before you enter your chambers, there's something we need to talk about."

Parm blinked, scratched his head and asked, "Is it about your room? I thought you wanted it to be that way?"

"No," the ninja girl remarked, "It's about that thing you hide behind the green door."

Spencer entered the back room as Metaknight looked at the boy and said, "Good to see you here. I figured we'd do a simple training procedure today."

The boy simply nodded his head in understanding. All he was going to do was spar with Metaknight. Nothing wrong with that.

Meanwhile, Joe was busy watching over his students when the door to the gym opened up, a Waddle Doo running into the room saying, "Knuckle Joe, Sir, someone's waiting for you outside."

Joe simply blinked and scratched his forehead saying, "I wasn't expecting any guests today."

Motoko had explained everything that had happened the previous night as Parm's eyes went wide. He couldn't believe that someone had actually broken into the room. However, he was relieved when he heard that his precious lollipop had been left untouched.

"Well, it's a good thing he didn't take the lollipop," Parm chuckled as Motoko glared and barked, "Why did you make such a big deal about that!? No one would have wanted to steal that candy had you not told them something else was behind that door!"

Parm blinked and replied, "I didn't say something else was behind the door. I said something with great power was behind it."

"It's a lollipop," the ninja remarked, "What is so special about a lollipop?"

It took the king a while to realize that the woman was serious. After all, the thought of a lollipop holding great power was preposterous. How could such a thing be true?

"You see, that lollipop was cooked up by a very powerful wizard," the king explained as Motoko's eyes went wide, Parm adding, "Anyone who eats that lollipop will gain great power. If that invader had even so much as licked it, he'd have had enough power to rule the world... at least for twenty minutes. It's temporary if you don't eat the whole lollipop."

Motoko couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her eyes sparkled in amazement. Who would have guessed that a lollipop held that kind of strength? Now she had to get it at all cost, and with Yamikage out of the picture, it might have been possible.

Joe walked over to the castle entrance with a look of suspicion on his face. Was the guest the king of Gluttonberg or perhaps Rocky coming to tell him some good news regarding recent events? Well, who else would want to see Knuckle Joe?

As he walked in front of the opened door and gazed upon the one who had come to see him, his eyes went wide as his jaw dropped. Standing before him was a woman dressed in armor with a sparkling bow atop her head and a skirt for good measure. The boy couldn't believe his eyes. Why would Iron Mom want to see him and why was she wearing a skirt and a different bow?

Joe blinked as the woman looked at him with a seductive gaze saying, "Hello, Knuckle Joe."

The boy blinked and said, "Hi Iron Mom. What brings you to New Pupupuland?"

The woman blushed and gulped thinking, 'Now is not the time to choke, girl. Remember what the Poppy Bros taught you.'

With that, she took a deep breath and looked into Joe's eyes saying, "I can't hold this in any longer. When you stuck up for me back there, I felt a deep attraction towards you."

Joe's eyes went wide as his jaw dropped. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He knew where this was going but wouldn't allow himself to accept such a thing.

Iron Mom placed her spherical hands on the boy's shoulders and said, "I love you, Knuckle Joe. I don't ask for your hand in marriage, but will you go on a date with a tomboy like me?"

Joe stood silent for a good minutes, Iron Mom standing there patiently, blinking every few seconds. Had the boy really just heard this? Was Iron Mom really asking him out?

The truth was that Joe was never the romantic type. He'd never had plans of ever getting married let alone starting a relationship. However, he needed to consider what the king would say about this. He knew that Parm would want more than ever for something like this to happen. For a queen to date a member of his royal army would have boosted the kingdom's reputation greatly.

The boy let out a sigh and said, "I need to think about this," as he headed off toward the king's chambers, Iron Mom turning beet red as she thought, 'I hope I didn't do anything wrong.'

Joe walked down the hallway towards the king's chambers, rubbing his temple as he thought, 'I'm not ready for this.'

Soon enough, he was in front of the door to the king's chambers as he breathed a sigh. Now, unlike Motoko, Joe could enter the chambers without needing an invite because he was an army commander. He had the right to enter for any reason.

The boy opened the door slowly as Parm smiled saying, "Why, hello there, Knuckle Joe. What business do you have here?"

Memu sighed, fanning herself with one hand and stroking Galbo with another asking, "Did someone steal the last eclair again?"

"No, nothing like that," Joe replied as he pulled on his collar nervously, Parm blinking and saying, "I've never seen you like this before. Something must be wrong."

Joe let out a sigh and told the king the whole story. He told of how Iron Mom had just shown up at the castle entrance to ask him out on a date. And the fact that she loved him made it all the more confusing.

"Well, this is splendid news!" Parm exclaimed as Joe's jaw dropped, Memu chuckling, "I never thought a queen would ever fall head over heels for a ruffian like you."

"Hey, I'm not ruffian!" Joe remarked, then turned to Parm folded his arms asking, "What if I'm not interested?"

"Oh, come now, lad," Parm replied, "You can't just decide that she's not for you without giving her a chance. Besides, if this works out, it'll be great for our publicity. More people may join our army."

Joe hung his head in disappointment, sighed and nodded before leaving the chambers and heading back towards the castle entrance. It was exactly as he had predicted: the king wanted him to accept this offer. But what if Joe didn't like Iron Mom? Would she wage war on the kingdom?

No, that was silly. From what he had seen, she didn't necessarily have a bad temper. The odds of a war breaking out just because he didn't want to be with the queen of Oro Town was slim. Besides, Parm may have been right. Maybe if Joe gave her a chance, he may just feel love for the first time in his life.

The boy returned to the entrance as Iron Mom was sweating nervously, Joe letting out one last sigh as he forced a smile and said, "Well, I've thought about your offer, and I accept. When should we have our date?"

Mom's eyes filled up with hearts, her face turning beet red again as steam came from her body. She then held her hands over her face as Joe blinked before asking, "Is something wrong?"

"Oh, I'm just so happy!" Iron Mom replied with a wide smile, "How about we have our date in an hour?"

Joe blinked and groaned, weakly saying, "Sure thing..." as Mom squealed excitedly running off to buy a few date things.

What had the kid gotten himself into? And only an hour? How could he prepare for a date in a mere hour? That was like asking him to defeat Masher by himself in less than a minute. Even a powerhouse like him couldn't pull that off.

Nonetheless, he needed help and fast, so he immediately rushed back to the gym where everyone had been busy training themselves. He grinned, feeling very proud of him students before remembering his situation, the grin replacing itself with a look of discontent.

He walked over to Flint and asked, "Hey, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure thing," Flint said with a grin, running into the backroom expecting training, Melanie feeling jealous to have been left out once again.

Joe walked over to the far end of the room and let down a sigh, his back turned to the Kirby. Flint blinked as the trainer put on a look of confidence and turned back to him, approaching him slowly.

"Flint, what do you know about dating?" he asked as the boy blinked before breaking out into hysterics but stopped when he realized Joe was serious.

"Wow..." the boy said, eyes widened. That look of shock soon turned into an impressed look as he placed his stubby arm on Joe's shoulder asking, "So, who's the lucky girl?"

Joe let down a sigh, placed his hands in his pocket and looked down, tapping his foot against the ground saying, "It's... Iron Mom..."

Flint's eyes were even wider than before. This was just too much. The queen of Oro Town, known to be one of the toughest women in the world wanted to go on a date with Knuckle Joe? Now that he thought about it, the pairing did sort of make sense.

Flint grinned as he pointed his arms at Joe saying, "I think you're good enough as it is. Iron Mom's one of the toughest fighters in the world as are you. I don't think you need to be any more than what you already are."

Joe breathed a sigh of relief as he left the room, thanking Flint greatly. Perhaps the Kirby was right. Someone like Iron Mom would definitely like Joe for who he was no matter how much or how little effort he put into his appearance. Maybe this would work out after all.

As he walked out of the room with a proud smile, Melody, Melanie and Sam stood by the entrance, shaking their heads. They had overheard everything and had little confidence in Flint's idea. What was it with guys always turning to boys for dating tips when girls knew all about their own gender?

Metaknight and Spencer had been training for the last hour, Spencer once again unable to match blows with the knight when it came to sparring. It seemed no one could stand up to the man. If only he knew.

"Well, Spencer, that was loads better than before," Metaknight said with a smile under his mask, "You might just be able to match my blows yet."

Spencer let out a sigh and said, "I don't know if even a master himself could stand up to you," as the knight looked down and replied, "Actually, I have lost a few times before."

The Sword Kirby blinked upon hearing that. Metaknight had lost before? That seemed impossible, especially with his skills. Even without his bat wings, in which Metaknight and Yamikage were the only ones who knew about them, he seemed unbeatable.

However, Metaknight had suffered quite a few losses in his past. It wasn't just his loss to Yamikage the previous night. He had lost on other occasions too.

The knight turned to Spencer and said, "I bet you wonder why I wear this mask, don't you?"

"Why would I want to know that?" Spencer asked nervously as the knight chuckled and replied, "Don't hide it. Everyone wonders why I never show my face to the public."

The Sword Kirby's eyes went wide as the knight smiled under his mask and said, "I trust you more than anyone else in the world. I feel that you deserve to know my secret."

Spencer couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was this for real or was Metaknight joking? The man had never shown his face to anyone, but why? Was he really going to show his face to a beginner like Spencer?

"Are you sure about this?" Spencer asked as the knight nodded and said, "I can see it in your eyes. I can trust you more than anyone else in the kingdom with this."

The Sword Kirby was spellbound. He still couldn't believe it no matter how many times he heard it. Metaknight was going to reveal his real face to the boy.

The knight placed a firm grip on his mask and said, "You must promise not to breathe a word of this to anyone," as Spencer nodded his head saying, "Don't worry, I won't tell a soul."

Metaknight grinned under his mask and said, "I know you won't," as he pulled the mask from his face, Spencer's eyes going wide as his jaw dropped.

There was no way such a strong man could look like that. This was beyond unexpected. He had pictured the knight with the face of a man, perhaps a beard. However, Metaknight's face wasn't in the least bit threatening. In fact, if one were to ignore his white hands, it could be said that he looked just like a Kirby.

The blue skin was predictable, but the cute youthful face wasn't. He even had white dots on his cheeks.

The knight placed the mask on his face as Spencer asked, "Why do you hide that? There's no shame in being cute."

"For me, there is," Metaknight replied with a sigh, "My face reminds me of the first time I lost in battle. Besides, if my enemies knew what I looked like underneath this mask, would they fear me as much as they do? Would anyone take me seriously?"

Spencer thought about this and nodded. Metaknight had a point. What if the demons knew of this look? They'd probably laugh at him. After all, who would have expected a man like him to be so... cute?


	16. Chapter 16

Land of Kirby

Note: Ruby Knight is probably the only character so far who's not based off of a character from the show or games.

Metaknight let out a sigh and said, "Well, that's it for today, Spencer."

The boy simply nodded his head as he exited the room, but he didn't feel as if now was the time to take the rest of the day off. The very fact that someone who looked like Metaknight did could become a great hero... it made Spencer want to become one even more than ever before. If Metaknight could do it, maybe he could do it. And the boy knew just what to do.

Joe let out a sigh as he stood outside of the castle, awaiting his date. He looked back towards the door and sighed. It was too late to get out of this. Besides, he didn't want to offend Iron Mom, especially since he knew that she could beat him in battle.

As he waited, he noticed a certain sphere-shaped figure approaching while carrying a rose. The boy's eyes went wide at the sight of this stranger. She had no armor on but rather a fancy dress and a ponytail held together by her bow, made up of long flowing black hair. This was also the boy's first time seeing her mouth. Her lips weren't exactly the most attractive in the universe, but they were certainly inviting nonetheless. She was also wearing eyeliner, something no one would have expected a fighter to wear.

Joe blinked and asked, "May I help you?" the woman chuckling and saying, "It's me, Iron Mom."

Joe's eyes went wide at the sound of that as his heart started to beat. She had gone all-out while Joe hadn't done a thing to prepare himself. Perhaps Flint's advice was wrong.

Come to think of it, where had she put her armor? It wasn't like she had a hotel room or anything.

Nevertheless, he gulped and walked next to her, reaching his arm out while forcing a smile and asking, "So, where to, dear?"

Those very words coming from his mouth made him want to vomit. But it was his duty to be a gentleman, even if it was against everything he stood for. After all, this was his first date. He needed to make it a memorable one.

Metaknight walked into his room and stood by the window, gazing up at the cloudy sky and letting out a sigh. He remembered the horrible event like it had happened yesterday.

It was shortly after Metaknight had been made an honorary member of the Star Soldier alliance that he had been sent on his first solo mission. He was to retrieve a rare item that had been lost long ago from the Star Soldiers, an item that held amazing power known as the Star Ruby.

Metaknight was in a dark cave when he found himself in a room full of water. Atop a pedestal with water pouring down its sides was a red stone shaped like a star. The knight knew right away that this was the star ruby. There was no doubt about it.

Sadly, the water made the area slippery. Even Metaknight couldn't just climb up and get it. He need some way to get to the treasure.

The man pulled out his sword and looked at the walls soaked with water, walking up to the structure and jamming his sword into the rock. With that, he climbed up onto the sharp object, propelling himself up to a higher level. The ruby was still three levels up from where the knight was. With that, Metaknight rammed his sword into the stone material on the second level, lifting himself up to the third one and pulling his sword back out.

He continued this procedure two more times until he finally reached the ruby. Upon looking at it close up, his eyes went wide, a strange feeling coming over him. The man's eyes glowed a bright shade of yellow as he held his hand out, reaching towards the star ruby. He couldn't help himself. It was just too beautiful.

But before his hand could touch the object, a strange glow emitted from it as the man's eyes went even wider. A bright light flashed from the ruby briefly as it shattered into tiny fragments. The man was even more shocked when the shards started to rise up into the air, more of them forming into a tall red knight made entirely out of solid ruby. He had a slit near the top of his face, clearly to represent eyes and had a very thin build along with a lance for a hand.

"Don't think you can just take me," he said in a deep voice, pointing his lance at the knight, "First you must prove your worth and defeat me in combat. Only one who is stronger than me may possess me."

The knight blinked, truly shocked by this turn of events, but if it was a challenge the ruby wanted, it was a challenge the ruby would get. Metaknight drew his blade in an instant and glared, remembering that he had to keep his footing while in here.

The ruby knight swiped his blade sideways as a red energy slash shot from it. Metaknight narrowed his eyes and leapt over it towards the ruby knight, his sword over his head as he sent it down towards the figure. The ruby simply held up his lance and blocked the incoming strike saying, "Well, you're certainly not a beginner to this, I can see that."

"Thank you," Metaknight replied, "So far, I've never lost a battle."

The ruby knight was rather intrigued by this as he applied more force to his lance, pushing Metaknight back. The man simply landed feet-first on the ground, however, due to the water, he was unable to keep his footing as he fell on his rear end, sliding back-first into the wall. Had it been ice, the pain would have been much worse, but this was still an inconvenience.

Before the knight could even recover, the ruby-made man soared towards him with his lance out as Metaknight held his sword in front of his face, blocking it. Due to the pressure of the lance arm combined with the water below his feet, the knight was once again unable to keep his footing. He had to act fast before his legs gave out and he ended up falling again.

With that in pain, he threw his free arm forward, the ruby knight shocked when Metaknight grabbed onto his lance. The knight lost his footing as he fell backwards, but unlike before, this was all part of the plan. After falling, he threw his arms back sending the ruby head-first into the wall behind him.

With that, he leapt back knowing it would be risky to attack a second time at this moment. The ruby knight shook his head and looked at the knight, a few shards falling off of his head as he said, "I must admit, that was a brilliant strategy."

The knight simply held up his sword as the ruby nodded, holding up his lance arm while the two charged at one-another. Metaknight was starting to get used to fighting with the running water below his feet. He wasn't sure how, but he was able to keep his footing this time around.

Metaknight's sword collided with the lance as the blades started to clash. Each one clanged his blade up against the other, neither of them losing focus. However, after a while, the ruby knight saw a weakness an opening and drove his lance towards Metaknight's arm, the man leaping away from the sharp end with a look of shock.

'Dammit,' he cursed in his mind, 'This guy's strong. I need to find some way to get to him, but I'm at a huge disadvantage. If only I could fly like he can."

Suddenly, the man felt a strange power flowing within him as he fell to his hands and knees, his heart throbbing. The ruby knight stared at this strange sight and asked, "Are you okay?"

Suddenly, the knight's cape tore in half as small fragments turned into flies, flying away from the vicinity. The cape had taken the shape of bat wings as the knight's heart stopped beating insanely.

The man rose to his feet as the ruby knight stroked his chin and said, "Very interesting," as Metaknight blinked, asking, "What's interesting?"

He then looked down and saw his reflection in the water, his eyes going wide. He couldn't believe his eyes. He had... wings? How had this happened?

'As hard as this is to believe, I guess I could say that I've been blessed,' the knight thought as his wings started to flap, the man rising from the ground. This was truly amazing. He hadn't even had these wings for a minute and he could already control them, but why?

The ruby knight soared towards the knight with his lance out as Metaknight flew towards him at an amazing speed. The ruby knight was shocked when he found himself unable to keep up with his opponent, Metaknight's sword hitting his waist hard. As small fragments of ruby fell to the ground, the knight realized he needed to step things up again.

'This is amazing,' the Metaknight thought as he soared through the air, 'I feel twice as strong and three times faster in this form.'

With that, the knight flew towards the ruby-made knight with confidence, however, the ruby knight saw an opening and sent his lance forward, planting it hard into Metaknight's mask. The knight's eyes went wide as he started to tremble a crack going down the front of his mask broke in half, the two halves falling to the ground. Soon enough, the knight lost focus as a drop of blood ran down his forehead, the man falling towards the ground as the flies returned, reforming into his cape.

The knight awoke an hour later, rubbing his head as his eyes went wide. The ruby knight was gone. With that, Metaknight knew he had blown his chance. Since he'd lost, the star ruby was gone. He had lost for the first time in his life, and worst of all, he'd lost his mask... or had he?

The man looked at the ground and blinked, noticing that there was nothing but water there as he placed his hands up against his face feeling the mask's metal material with a sigh of relief. It seemed as if the ruby knight had at least fixed it before leaving the planet to find another.

As he got up and started heading towards the exit, he heard a voice enter the room saying, "Had you not let your new power go to your head, you would have won..." as the knight looked down with a look of shame.

The voice was right. Metaknight had felt such a thrill from his bat wings that he had lost sight of what mattered in battle; skill. Nonetheless, it was too late now. The star ruby had relocated itself because of Metaknight's loss to it. Thus was the legend behind the star ruby, how it was said to have gone from planet to planet seeking someone who deserved to have it.

Metaknight let out a sigh as he thought, 'I hope the star ruby doesn't end up in the wrong hands. I just wish I knew where he'd gone all those years back.'

In present time, the knight sat on his futon and closed his eyes. Perhaps a nap would clear his mind.

Meanwhile, Flint was walking down the halls with a sigh and a nervous expression. He was headed towards the exit of the castle as he'd heard Fumu was shopping at the marketplace. Fumu must have been the luckiest princess in the world. Most wouldn't be allowed to leave without their parents, be them 16 or not.

'I'd almost lost sight of what's truly important,' the boy thought as he reached for the door to the castle, 'I'd better ask her out now before it's too late. If Knuckle Joe can score a date with a queen, I can certainly get one with a princess.'

With that, he exited the castle with a look of confidence. He had held this off for too long. He was going to win the princess' heart no matter what.

Meanwhile, Spencer was in the forest, walking down the path with a serious look in his eyes. He had actually been walking through the forest for quite some time, but where was he going?

The answer soon became clear when the boy stopped in front of a cave and sat down to rest up thinking, 'I need all my strength for this. I won't let you down, Metaknight.'

Around that time, Joe and Iron Mom had gone to a show that had opened up in town. It was a special event that happened once every month simply known as 'The Big Fight' when a fighter would come from another town and challenge one New Pupupuland's fighters to a battle. New Pupupuland's representative was a bird-like creature wearing a pilot's goggles known as Birdon while the visitor was a short magician named Simirror. Birdon charged at the magician with his beak out as Simirror held his wand in front of his face, an orb of light forming while Birdon's face smashed hard into it.

Simirror then proceeded to wave his wand back and forth, mirrors flying out of it and hitting the bird hard. However, Birdon wasn't going down so easily as he shook off the pain and flapped his wings, rising up into the air. Simirror glared as he tried shooting his mirrors towards Birdon, however, there was one weakness t this move. It was limited to how far it went, and whenever a mirror reached its maximum distance, it would simply vanish.

Eventually, Simirror's arm started to grow tired as he dropped his arm, breathing heavily while Birdon grinned wickedly, flying downward and planting his beak hard into the wizard's head. Joe threw his fist in front of his face and spat, "YEAH, SHOW THAT CHEAPSKATE WHO'S BOSS!!!!!" as Iron Mom smiled happily. Joe's happiness was her happiness.

Flint was simply walking around the marketplace when he saw Fumu at the local flower shop looking at the selections. He simply let out a sigh and thought, 'Mental note: Princess Fumu likes flowers.'

Fumu had just finished purchasing a white rose when she felt a hand tap her on the shoulder. She groaned, thinking it was another one of her admirers wanting her autograph, but was quite surprised to see Flint standing there.

"Oh, hi Flint," she said with a smile, "I would have never expected to see a fighter at a flower shop."

"Are you kidding?" Flint replied, "I love flowers!"

Of course, the boy was lying, but nevertheless, it got a smile from Fumu. However, that didn't matter. What mattered now was that Flint take his chance before it was too late.

The boy proceeded to place a hand against the girl's shoulder saying, "Fumu, ever since the day I met you, I have had a deep attraction towards you. Will you please give a peasant like me a chance and go on a date?"

Fumu's eyes went wide at the sound of this, a blush forming. The girl sighed and patted him on the shoulder saying, "I'm sorry, but I'm not ready for a relationship."

Flint's eyes went wide, his jaw dropping as he stood frozen on the spot. He had finally mustered up the courage to ask and she'd rejected? Sure, he half expected it to end that way, but he had really hoped it wouldn't. Had he come on too strong? Had he been too forward? Maybe he just needed to wait longer.

The princess noticed his disappointment and placed a hand on his shoulder saying, "It's nothing against you personally. You just don't seem like my type."

Flint's eye twitched as she headed back towards the castle with her new rose. The boy let out a sigh and lowered his head. He simply blinked, shook his head and walked towards the castle. So he'd been rejected. So what? Fumu was a princess and he was a fighter. This wasn't a big deal. At least he could tell himself that.

Spencer took a deep breath and got up, slowly entering the cave. He was not going to fail this time. Besides, with those Rockies dead, at least his first obstacle was gone.

The boy was quite surprised to see the hole in the floor still there from the other day. He had expected odd forces to patch it up with more rock. Such a silly thought that was.

The boy simply walked around it as he headed down the narrow hallway. Nothing was going to stop him now. He was determined to obtain the treasure no matter how difficult it was.

Something was amiss, though. As Spencer walked down the hallway, it only seemed to get longer and longer. But why? Why hadn't the boy gotten to the end by now? Better yet, where were all the dangerous demons that were said to reside here? Surely, those Rockies weren't the toughest that the cave had to offer. Perhaps he just needed to walk a little bit further.

Meanwhile, somewhere within the forest, the sound of footsteps could be heard as the trees started to rustle. An army of demons was marching towards the kingdom. There were fire lions, large suits of armor, Wolfwraths and a large ape-like creature with razor sharp claws. But why were they headed towards the kingdom? Were they going to destroy New Pupupuland like they had destroyed Norwal?

Joe and Iron Mom's date had finally come to an end as the two stood before the entrance to the castle. Mom smiled and said, "I have a wonderful time," as Joe let out a sigh.

Mom looked down blushing and asked, "May I see you again?" as Joe scratched the back of his head and said, "Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't think this is going to work out."

Mom's eyes went wide at the sound of that, a tear going down her face as Joe's eyes twitched, the boy knowing that he had to think of some way to put this without hurting her feelings too much. After all, no one wanted the wrath of a queen, especially considering the fact that Iron Mom was better than him in battle.

Joe placed his hands on her shoulders, ignoring the pain from her shoulder guards and looked into the woman's eyes saying, "Iron Mom, I respect you as a fighter and like you as a friend, but that's it. I'm not the romantic type. It's just against my nature. I'm sure that if I was that kind of person, we could probably spend our lives together, but I'm just not that kind of being."

Mom sighed and wiped her tears, sniffing, "I understand," as she bowed to the boy and said, "Thank you for a good time, anyway."

And with that, she headed off towards her kingdom as Joe waved to her. He then breathed a sigh of relief. That had ended much better than he thought it would. However, one question still remained: where had Iron Mom's armor gone?

Spencer continued his trek through the cave until he suddenly came to a complete stop, his eyes wide and his jaw dropped. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He was standing right in front of a gaping hole in the floor with bits of the ceiling missing.

'No...' he thought, his eye twitching, 'This can't be right...'

The situation was clear. The Sword Kirby had been going in circles. But what did this mean? Was this impossible? Was there no treasure here at all?

No, none of this made sense. He had been walking in a straight line the entire time. There was no way he could have ended up back here, but the area looked exactly the same. This was the very spot he'd fought the Rockies in the other day, the area he had passed by earlier.

The boy let out a sigh, plopping himself down against the ground. Maybe it was best that he turned back. This all seemed hopeless. All he could do was walk in an endless loop.

As he stood up and turned towards the exit, his eyes went wide, the boy turning back towards the hole. He then walked over to it and peered down. This was no time to turn back. The answer was right in front of him. Maybe to get to the treasure, he needed to go down the hole. But how was one to go down such a hole without hurting himself? Spencer had almost died when he'd fallen down it before.

The the answer came to him as a glow emitted from his cap. He quickly reached his hand underneath, pulling out a tiny star.

"That's it," he said with a grin as he placed the star against the ground, the small object expanding in size until it was big enough for Spencer to stand on it.

Meanwhile, in the small village away from the kingdom where the Yariko tribe lived, Bun was being fanned by two female Yariko as he let out a sigh. One of the women blinked and asked, "What wrong, chief?"

"I'm starting to miss my family," the boy replied as the other woman asked, "You go back?"

Bun shook his head. He couldn't go back. If he did, he just knew that he would have to leave his tribe forever. He couldn't allow that to happen.

His eyes went wide under his long hair when he heard the sound of a horn. He turned his gaze towards the source as a small boy holding the Yariko horn, which resembled a horn of plenty, ran over to the boy and spat, "THERE'S AN ARMY OF DEMONS HEADED TOWARDS THE VILLAGE!!!!"

Bun started to panic as he ran towards the entrance only for a large ape-like creature to make his way through the bushes and trees, letting out a deep roar. The Yariko did all they could to defend themselves against this threat, chucking spears and throwing nets, but nothing seemed to work.

Bun gritted his teeth and turned to the Yariko shouting, "Run to safety right now!" as one of the men placed a hand on his shoulder, shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, but even you no stop this."

Bun's panic level rose when the leader turned to one of the Wolfwraths. The wolf nodded and opened its mouth, releasing a fireball and lighting a hut on fire. The other Wolfwraths did the same while the suits of armor lifted up flails, smashing the houses to pieces. The Fire Lion let out loud roar as their bodies caught flame, transforming into giant lion heads and ramming themselves straight through the remaining structures.

The Yariko all turned to their chief who started to let down tears at the sight of this. It was as his servant had said. Even he couldn't do a thing about this threat. Now the Yariko village had been destroyed, but the boy knew it wasn't going to stop here.

He quickly turned to his men and shouted, "HUDDLE!!!!" as the Yariko all moved in, the boy placing his hands on the shoulders of two Yariko whispering, "I know for a fact that these demons are going to go after New Pupupuland next. We'll use the secret village exit to sneak out and warn them before it's too late."

"Why we help them?" a little girl asked as Bun turned his head to her and replied, "My parents and sister live there. I may not be able to stand them, but I care about them all the same."

The Yariko all smiled and nodded to one-another, feeling even more respect for their chief than usual. After all, it took real heart to put one's family ahead of his own life.

Back at the kingdom, Flint sat in one of the chairs, a look of depression on his face. Melanie was walking through the castle when she saw the boy sitting there. When she saw his expression, she knew something was wrong.

The green Hammer Kirby walked over to her friend and asked, "What's wrong?" as Flint groaned and replied, "It's nothing."

Melanie rolled her eyes and placed a hand on his shoulder saying, "Look, I'm your friend. You can talk to me about these things, alright?"

Flint let out a sigh as he explained the whole story to her, of his attraction for Fumu and how she'd rejected his offer. Upon hearing this, Melanie blinked, trying her hardest not to laugh, but of course it proved futile, the Fighter Kirby scowling at her.

"Sorry," the girl said as she slowly calmed down, "It's just that... you really thought you could score with a princess?"

"Well, why not?" Flint remarked, a grin on his face as he waved his hand across his headband saying, "Am I not the perfect specimen of manliness?"

Melanie rolled her eyes and shook her head saying, "Flint, get over it. It's best not to let this sort of thing take over your life. If Fumu doesn't want you, it's her loss. You need to just let it go."

Flint sighed once again when suddenly, the two heard a sound coming from outside as their eyes went wide. When they heard the town bell ringing, they knew something was wrong.

The entire army was soon out of the castle to prepare for the battle, but Flint and Melanie were in shock seeing that the invaders were the Yariko. The two kids turned to one-another as the girl asked, "Why are the Yariko considered a threat?" as Joe turned to them and said, "Those guys are savages. They're just as bad to us as demons."

"Hold on!" Fumu shouted running out of the castle followed by Metaknight, Parm and Memu both at the entrance with looks of worry on their faces.

Joe turned to the two and glared at Metaknight asking, "What's the meaning of this? You know the princess has to stay inside when the kingdom's under attack!"

"You don't understand!" Fumu retorted as the knight nodded explaining, "The Yariko are not here to attack us. After all, they are led by Prince Bun."

Melanie and Flint still couldn't believe that the boy was a prince, but that didn't matter right now. What worried them was the fact that he was even here. They both knew very well that Bun would never return to the kingdom, so why had he come back?

Joe was even more surprised by said nothing as he held up his hand shouting, "Men, hold your ground! According to Metaknight, these people aren't here to attack us!"

The army looked at the man with confusion, but shrugged knowing that it was better not to question Joe's motives. Fumu smiled when she saw Bun leading the tribe towards the army, all of them exhausted from all the running they had done.

Fumu's smile turned to a look of concern as Bun slowly walked over, the girl asking, "Bun, why are you back?"

Parm and Memu both blinked, eyes wide open and asked, "Is that our little Bun?" as the boy noticed them and waved weakly saying, "Hi..." then turned back to the princess and said, "Demons just destroyed our village. I could tell from the way their leader looked that they're coming here."

"WHAT!?" spat Joe, Melanie, Flint and the other five Fighter Kirbies. However, Metaknight didn't seem all that phased. Somehow, he'd half-expected something like this.

"I knew it," he said as the others turned to him, the knight drawing his sword and saying, "There's no doubt about it. Those demons that destroyed Spencer's village are coming here."

This was certainly a cause for alarm. Sure, New Pupupuland had much stronger fighters living in it, but could they possibly stand up to this threat?

To make matters worse, no one knew where Spencer was and Motoko was still back in the castle for reasons unknown. Would this be the end of New Pupupuland?


	17. Chapter 17

Land of Kirby

After floating down to the bottom of the pit that the Rockies had created, Spencer continued to travel through the cave. Hopefully, his theory was right and this would lead him to the treasure hidden here.

As he walked down the long hallway, he noticed that for the first time, his surroundings were starting to change. Soon enough, he found himself in a room with gold bricks making up the walls. On the other end was an opening.

Spencer slowly walked toward the opening, eyes darting back and forth. The boy couldn't be too careful, after all. For all he knew, something could jump out at any time.

He soon found himself standing right before the opening completely unscathed. Much to his surprise, nothing had attacked him and no traps had been triggered. So far, this cave didn't seem nearly as dangerous as the legends had said.

However, as he took a small step through the opening in the wall, his eyes went wide when he felt something wet and sticky wrapped around his waist. The boy looked down as his eyes went wide at the sight of a tongue wrapping itself around him. The Sword Kirby was completely helpless as the tongue pulled him inward.

Spencer turned his head around only to see nothing attached to the tongue. As soon as he reached the end of the sticky body part, his body vanished on the spot. But how? There wasn't anything attached to that tongue. Where had it come from?

That question was soon answered when a body suddenly appeared, cheeks puffed up and eyes wide open as it opened its mouth sending a certain Sword Kirby hard into the far wall. Spencer rubbed the back of his head and groaned, his eyes going wide at the sight of the creature who had just trapped him with its tongue clinging to the side of the wall.

It was a rather odd lizard-like creature with a deceivingly cute face. Aside from it's large eyes, it also had a slender body, which was slightly thinner than its head. It also had short stubby arms with three claws each and instead of feet, it had two large fang-shaped claws.

Spencer couldn't believe his eyes. This was the legendary Chameleoarm, a creature that was believed to be extinct. How could such a thing be living in this cave?

Nonetheless, he knew one thing for certain. This demon was a threat and with the exit sealed off by a large stone slab, he knew that he had to defeat the lizard at all cost.

The soldiers and fighters all stood tall and proud outside of the town as they heard the sound of footsteps slowly approaching the village. This was going to be a difficult battle for them to win, but what else could they do? Even if they lost, it was their duty as royal warriors to face any threat that came before them.

Melanie squinted her eyes for a few seconds before turning to the others saying, "They'll be here in 10 minutes."

Metaknight and Joe nodded, preparing themselves for the attack. Everyone was nervous right now, but they all had to do what they could to defend against the army of demons. There was no way they would allow New Pupupuland to suffer the same fate as Norwal, not in a million years.

Fumu stood by her parents at the entrance of the castle as she let out a sigh saying, "I just hope Bun ends up okay."

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Parm replied as Memu glared at her husband stating, "I'm still against this idea. After all, he's still just a child."

"No, honey," the king remarked, shaking his head, "He's 14 years old and he's the chief of the Yariko. I'm sure he can handle himself."

Memu let out a sigh and shook her head. The king certainly had a point. Even so, both she and Fumu were worried. Bun may have been the Yariko tribe's chief, but he wasn't exactly a powerhouse.

Flint turned to Bun and placed a hand on his shoulder saying, "You did a great thing coming here and warning us," as the boy grinned, holding his hands behind his head saying, "Well, you know what they say. Family comes first and all that, right?"

He then looked into the distance and noticed the demons coming closer, pointing his finger towards them and shouting, "YARIKO, TAKE ACTION NOW!!!!" as the tribesmen leapt through the trees towards the incoming army.

The others were rather shocked by this command, but Bun's grin told them that they had no need to worry. After all, the Yariko may not have been strong, but they were certainly crafty and for all they knew, Bun may have been a lot smarter than he looked. One had to wonder why he was even chosen as the Yariko chief besides the fact that he resembled them a little bit.

As Spencer charged towards Chameleoarm, the reptile simply stretched its leg out, hitting the boy hard in the arm with its oversized claw. Spencer cried out in pain as a small trickle of blood dripped down, the reptile leaping off of the wall, tucking its body inward to form a ball shape. With that, Chameleoarm rolled towards the Sword Kirby who barely leapt to the side in time to dodge the attack.

It didn't end there, though. When Chameleoarm stopped rolling, he quickly returned his body to normal. Due to the fact that it had large pointed claws instead of feet, it stood on its tail. This Chameleoarm was certainly an odd creature.

The lizard once again whipped out its tongue, but this time Spencer was prepared. The boy simply leapt to the side as Chameleoarm reeled its tongue back in. Much like when he'd engulfed Spencer, his cheeks were puffed up and his eyes were wide open.

At that moment, the Sword Kirby saw a weakness. It seemed that even if the chameleon didn't eat something, its body would be temporarily paralyzed. Spencer wasted no time taking full advantage of this as he leapt towards Chameleoarm, his body spinning vertically as he soared over the lizard's head.

Chameleoarm's eyes went wide as Spencer landed firmly against the ground, a confident grin on his face. The chameleon proceeded to cry in pain as a cut formed on his head, blood spewing out. The reptilian demon started rolling in pain while Spencer breathed a sigh of relief.

"Let this be a lesson to you," he said, "Never let your guard down."

With that, the boy turned toward the exit to the room but was shocked to see it still sealed off. But why? He had defeated the Chameleoarm, hadn't he? Well, it seemed as if Spencer had ignored his own advice as the bleeding finally stopped, the chameleon slowly climbing to its feet and opening its mouth as a small rainbow-colored ball shot out of it.

Spencer quickly turned back towards the demon only for the ball to slap hard into his face, sending him back-first into the wall. The boy grumbled as he rubbed the back of his head, slowly rising to his feet.

"Note to self: Make sure the opponent's dead before celebrating," he said as he noticed something odd.

Chameleoarm had broken out into hysterics as it pointed and laughed at him. It then proceeded to clutch onto its chest, lowering its head to from the ground as it was barely able to control itself.

"What's so funny!?" Spencer spat as he lifted up his hand, his eyes going wide. His hand had turned from yellow to green.

"What did you do to me!?" he asked as the chameleon was on its belly, slamming its fist against the ground repeatedly while laughing.

Not only was Spencer's hand green. His other hand was blue while his feet were orange and purple. The lower half of his face was red while the top half was pink. What shocked Spencer the most, though, was that his sword's blade was now the colors of the rainbow.

The boy simply blinked as a small liquid dripped down the blade. He then realized what this was. It was... paint!

'It attacked me... with paint?' he thought with a dumbfounded look on his face, 'What was that supposed to accomplish?'

Perhaps Chameleoarm just had a sick sense of humor. All in all, Spencer's family blade had been vandalized. That at least called for some form of punishment.

The demons were still five minutes away from the town when the Yariko returned to Bun's side. The others stared at this with confusion.

"Well, it seems the Yariko can't face them alone, can they?" Jason said as Bun shook his head saying, "That wasn't the plan."

Metaknight nodded in understanding, but everyone else was confused. What did Bun mean? It didn't look as if the Yariko had helped in the slightest.

However, a grin crossed Melanie's face as she looked on at the scene noticing a large hole open up underneath the demons' feet, the monsters falling face-first into the dirt below. Bun simply laughed and shouted, "Way to go, boys! I can't believe it was big enough!"

Melanie patted the chief on the shoulder as Flint whistled with admiration. Jason's eyes sparkled at the pure genius and simplicity of it all while Michael and Sam gave a light applause. Melody was a bit jealous that she hadn't come up with that herself, but she tried her best not to show it. The rest of the army was certainly impressed as well.

However, Metaknight and Knuckle Joe were both uncertain. Sure, it was amazing that they'd made a hole big enough to hold more than fifty large demons, but who were they to say it would be good enough? After all, in such a short time, the Yariko only had enough time to make it wide enough, not deep enough.

And this showed when a claw reached up out of the hole, the leader of the demons pulling himself out and others starting to follow close behind. Metaknight turned to the young tribal chief and said, "That was smart, but was that really it?"

Bun simply smiled and replied in a rather smug voice, "Do you honestly think we Yariko are that careless?"

The demons had failed to notice a small string inches away from the hole, and to make matters worse for them, the leader had not only touched it with his claws, he'd also cut it. With that, the string reeled towards the two trees it had been attached to, the ends hitting up against them hard. See, this wasn't just any string. It was made up of a strong material that only the Yariko knew about, a material that was stronger than any tree could ever be.

As such, the string caused the trees to vibrate as they swayed back and forth, spears flying out of them and stabbing the demons in the shoulders. The leader cried out in pain as blood trickled down both sides of him, a look of fury on his face.

Bun had a look of pride on his face saying, "If you think that's all, here's the best part: those spearheads were dipped in poison meaning they won't be able to recover from any of that damage until they get here."

The army cheered as Joe grinned, rubbing his invisible nostrils while saying, "Not bad for the Yariko."

"It's not over yet, though," Sam said as the others nodded. That much was certainly clear. Sure, the Yariko had weakened the demons a little bit, but this battle was far from over.

Back in the cave, things weren't looking so good for Spencer as he tried time and time again to land another strike on Chameleoarm. Unfortunately, the lizard was too quick and continued to dodge each and every blow.

Spencer thrust his blade to downward as the chameleon simply leapt to the right. Spencer saw an opportunity in this, throwing his blade right only for Chameleoarm to open its mouth, latching its tongue to the wall and pulling itself out of harm's way.

The Sword Kirby gritted his teeth in frustration until he noticed something odd. Each time he'd swiped his sword towards the chameleon, a bit of paint would fly off of it. What he failed to notice was that for each droplet that hit the floor, a picture would take its place.

The boy's eyes went wide and his jaw dropped as he saw beautifully done images all across the floor. One was a picture of a flower, another an image of a rice ball. There were many others such as a picture of a bee, one of a hawk and another that looked like a rocket.

"That's it," the boy said aloud to himself, "This is magic paint!"

Chameleoarm's eyes went wide at the sound of this as the boy grinned and said, "You're in trouble now. I don't even need to hit you."

As soon as he said that, he tapped the point of his blade against the picture of the flower as it sprang up out of the floor, taking the form of a real one. Spencer was quite happy to know that the stories of magic paint were true.

Chameleoarm started to panic as it whipped its tongue out at Spencer, who simply leapt to the side and tapped his blade against the picture of the bee. The insect flew towards Chameleoarm, buzzing around its head as the chameleon whipped its tongue out in an effort to eat the bee. Unfortunately for the lizard, it missed as its tongue returned, paralyzing it briefly while the bee planted its stinger into the chameleon's head.

Chameleoarm cried out in pain as the bee fell to the ground, now dead. After all, it was a honeybee and all honeybees died from a single use of the stinger, painting or not. Chameleoarm angrily pried the stinger out with one of its leg claws and whipped its tongue out, gulping down the insect only to see that Spencer had brought the picture of the hawk to life.

The chameleon cried out in terror as the hawk soared towards it, slashing the chameleon across the face with its talons. Small cuts formed as the chameleon stretched out its legs in an attempt to hit the bird with its claws. No matter how hard Chameleoarm tried, though, the hawk kept dodging the claws, swooping in every chance it got to deliver another strike with its talons.

Spencer breathed a sigh of relief saying, "I should be thanking you for this, Chameleoarm. If you hadn't hit me with that paint bomb, I'd still be trying to hit you."

Joe held up a fighter stance as Metaknight drew his sword saying, "They're here."

Just as predicted, the demons were closing in on New Pupupuland. Joe turned to his men and nodded, all of them nodding back.

As the demons closed in, Joe leapt into the air shouting, "ROUNDHOUSE!!!!" sweeping his leg forward as a burst of energy shot from it, hitting a Fire Lion hard in the face.

Melody sent an array of energy balls towards the demon army shouting, "VULCAN JAB!!!!" hitting them hard in the face as Basil and Jason gave each other a high five sending a Smash Punch and Spin Kick combo towards one of the Wolfwraths' face. "ROUNDHOUSE!!!!!" Sam spat sending her own energy kick towards one of the suits of armor as Michael sighed, feeling helpless with the fact that his special move was short ranged.

The Yariko hurled spears at the demons to add to the damage dealt earlier, only some of them dumb enough to allow themselves to be hit by the sharp objects again. The Waddle Dees all covered their cyclops eyes as energy built up in their body before removing their stubby hands, large blasts shooting from their eyeballs and dealing incredible damage to the demons. However, that was that for the long-ranged attackers. All of the others had to wait... all except for one.

"If all that didn't help us, this certainly will," Metaknight stated as he leapt forward, lifting his blade up over his head and driving it hard into the ground a large multicolored tornado formed, headed towards the demons.

The leader's eyes narrowed at the sight of this as he held his hand back, signaling the other demons to stand still as he crossed his blade-like claws together, the torrent of wind hitting up against them. Despite the twister being larger than the demon, the leader was more than powerful enough to fight back the tornado as it dissipated into the air.

Metaknight glared and said, "I should have known better than to expect Kirisakin to fall to such an attack."

At that moment, the horrid memory of meeting that ape-like beast returned. It was the very day Metaknight had gotten the sword everyone was used to seeing him with.

On this day, he and a friend of his, a beautiful young woman named Garlude. She had flowing gray hair that matched her skin color in a ponytail. She also wore a sky-blue dress and a purple cape. She had red eyes and orange eyeliner on the top of her eyelids and also wore a golden tiara with a blue gem in the middle.

The reason Metaknight and her traveled together was because Garlude was one of the top members of the Star Soldier Alliance. She was a master swordsman and was the soul reason the star soldier alliance accepted females in their ranks.

Both Metaknight and Garlude had heard legend of a powerful sword known as Galaxia located in a mountainous region. They had finally found the place after months of searching lodged blade-first into a stone without a small opening in the mountain.

Metaknight turned to the woman and nodded to her saying, "I feel you deserve this sword much more than I do."

Garlude shook her head and smiled saying, "No, Metaknight, you're meant to wield Galaxia."

"How can you be certain?" the knight replied as the woman chuckled saying, "Just call it a feeling."

Metaknight smiled under his mask and proceeded towards the sword only to hear a loud roar from above. His eyes went wide as he noticed a large purple ape-like beast with blades for claws and a blood-red eyes.

"That's the mighty Kirisakin!" Metaknight exclaimed as it leapt down towards him, claws ready for an attack.

The knight quickly drew his sword only for it to be knocked from his hands, the man falling hard on his rump. This Kirisakin was just as powerful as he'd heard it would be.

Just as the beast sent his claws towards the knight's head, Garlude ran towards it with her blade ready. Kirisakin stopped his attack and glared at the woman, redirecting his claws towards her and striking her across the chest, her dress tearing as a blood started to drip down.

Had Metaknight not been a man of honor, he would have been thinking unholy thoughts about this, but that wasn't the kind of man he was as he quickly ran for his blade. But Garlude simply glared at the beast before her shouting, "METAKNIGHT, FORGET ABOUT ME!!!! JUST GET THE SWORD!!!!!"

The knight's eyes went wide at the sound of that. How could he abandon a friend? Such a thought was unthinkable.

However, the look in Garlude's eyes told him that he had no choice. Clearly his sword was no match for Kirisakin's power. Galaxia was his only chance.

Nonetheless, it wasn't his nature to let a fellow Star Soldier die. As such, he charged towards Kirisakin and leapt onto the beast's back, ramming his sword into it.

Kirisakin cried in pain as Garlude sighed and took this opportunity to leap towards the demon, striking it across the chest as blood poured out. However, Kirisakin easily ignored the pain as he shifted his body around, snagging Metaknight's cape and hurled him into the rock that Galaxia was stuck in. The stone shattered in tiny bits as the sword flew into the air, landing right next to the man.

Metaknight rubbed his head, his eyes going wide at the sight of Garlude being overpowered by Kirisakin. The beast had knocked her sword to the side and pried Metaknight's blade out of his back, breaking it into tiny pieces.

"GARLUDE, HANG ON!!!!" the man shouted as Kirisakin rose his arm up, aiming his claws towards the defenseless woman.

Garlude slowly turned her gaze towards the knight and smiled weakly, saying, "You got Galaxia... good job..." as Kirisakin drove his claws straight through her exposed chest, piercing her heart.

Metaknight's eyes went wide, his heart beating at an incredible speed as Garlude's eyes went wide, the woman coughing up blood while she fell to the ground. The man's look of shock turned to one of undying fury. The man lifted up Galaxia, feeling an incredible surge of power coming from it. It truly was the most powerful sword in existence.

Metaknight's bat wings formed as he flew towards the demon, delivering a strike to Kirisakin's face, blood trickling down it. The demon did all he could to fight against the knight, but in the end, Metaknight overpowered him and pushed Kirisakin off the edge of the mountain.

The man had hoped so much that this was the last he'd see of that wretched beast, but it seemed that fall hadn't done him in as predicted. But how was that possible?

That didn't matter right now. Now he wanted more than ever to kill this demon and nothing was going to stop him this time.

Kirisakin snarled and pointed towards the group as the demons charged towards the army. Joe's eyes widened when he finally got a clear view of the living armor suits. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

'There's more than one of them?' he thought, his eye twitching at the sight of twenty Mashers charging towards the New Pupupuland Army.

He still couldn't believe his eyes. All this time, he thought Masher was just a one-of-a-kind demon, but now he was seeing an army of them. Now he understood why the kingdom had been attacked by Masher despite Joe destroying it years ago. The Masher that had attacked the kingdom must have been another one.

Nonetheless, Joe was furious to see all of these Mashers here. As such, he leapt at one of them, planting his fist hard into its face as it backed up slowly.

Melanie was face-to-face with a fire lion. The large feline roared and charged towards her as she simply leapt to the side, slamming her hammer hard into the side of its face, its eyes going wide while five of its fangs fell out.

Michael saw his chance to get in on the action as he sent his Uppercut to a Wolfwrath's chin, the wolf howling in pain. Flint leapt into the air, aiming a kick towards a Wolfwrath's side, the wolf snarling in response.

The cappies and swordsman also played their parts, but they weren't quite as strong as the others. In only a few seconds, ten had already been badly wounded, two of them dead.

All the while, Metaknight had left the others to fight the regular demons while he charged towards Kirisakin. That ape-like monster was going to pay this time and nothing was going to stop the knight from exacting his revenge.

Metaknight held his blade up as Kirisakin lashed his claws out towards the knight. The man simply leapt over the claw and spun his body around, sword outward as a torrent of wind surrounded his body, forming a twister. The tornado rammed hard into the demon's face, Kirisakin backing up as Metaknight returned to his normal state, planting his sword hard into the ground as a blue energy raced across the ground towards the beast.

Chameleoarm had grown tired of the hawk's antics as it scratched him once more, this time on a spot that had already been scratched. The Chameleon grimaced before stretching his leg out once more, this time jamming his claw straight through the bird's wing.

The hawk descended head-first into the ground and vanished as Spencer's eyes went wide. If he wanted to defeat Chameleoarm, he would have to rely on the last painting in the room: the rocket. This was his last hope as the paint had already seeped off of his body and blade.

With that in mind, the boy tapped his sword against the drawing as it was replaced by a real rocket. The rocket ignited as it soared towards Chameleoarm, the reptile screaming in terror as the projectile flew into its chest.

Chameleoarm's eyes were wide open as the rocket flew all over the room before finally dive-bombing into the floor, an explosion forming around Chameleoarm. It looked as if Spencer had won, but the boy couldn't be too certain. After all, he'd made that mistake before. He couldn't be too sure about this.

The smoke cleared to reveal a crater, but nothing was in it. Had the rocket really done that much damage? No, a body could not just disappear like that.

Before Spencer could figure out what was going on, he cried out in pain as he felt something strike him in the tummy, blood trickling down his front. The boy groaned in pain as he thought, 'I knew it... that thing's invisible again...'

What was the boy to do now? With the chameleon invisible, there was no way for the boy to see it. This wasn't fair. He had come so close. How could he possibly win now?


	18. Chapter 18

Land of Kirby

Spencer started to panic as he felt another strike, this time to his arm. As blood fell to the ground, his eyes went wide. The first thing the Kirby needed to do was try not to get killed. With that, he started to flee. He didn't know where he could turn to or where any other attack would come from. He just knew that he needed to run. With no way of exiting the room, he was in terrible danger.

The boy's eyes darted to the right as he saw a spark fly, a clanging sound accompanying it. Clearly, that was where Chameleoarm's attack had landed. However, that didn't help in revealing its position as it could, after all, stretch out its legs. That could have come from any direction.

The boy then noticed dust flying up from the ground, the debris headed towards him. This meant that Chameleoarm was rolling at him, and unlike the claw attacks, the boy knew where this was coming from.

'This is it,' he thought, holding up his blade with a serious look in his eyes, 'If I don't time this right, this will hurt.'

It was time to put Metaknight's training to the test. The knight had taught the boy all about timing. The only problem was that even now, Spencer wasn't very good when it came to such things. He'd always relied on his opponent standing still long enough to take in damage. But this time was different: this time, his life was on the line and he had no one to help him. He could die here and nobody would prevent it from happening.

The boy watched the dust as it traveled towards him. Chameleoarm was only three seconds away from hitting him. Sure, Spencer could have easily dodged this, but then his perfect opportunity would have been gone.

As the dust finally closed in, Spencer threw his blade forward. He felt his sword scrape against something as a red substance sprayed in his face. The boy blinked a cry of pain was heard, Chameleoarm taking form while standing atop his claws, arms in the air and mouth and eyes wide open.

The reptile's eye twitched as he fell, landing hard on his back and coughing up blood. That was that. The battle was over.

Spencer let out a sigh of relief as he plopped down, the exit to the room opening. Of course, now was not the time to progress further into the cavern, at least not yet. The Sword Kirby was exhausted and bleeding. He just wanted to rest now.

He also remembered that he might not even get dinner for the rest of the day. If that was true, he would starve. He then remembered the small painting of a rice ball on the ground, tapping his blade against it and bringing it to life as he happily placed the tasty treat under his cap.

But even if he didn't complete the challenge in a day, one thing was for certain: Had Metaknight seen him back there, the man would have been proud.

Melanie was backed up against a corner as a fire lion stood before her, letting out a loud roar as it rose its claws. But before it could finish its attack, Flint leapt towards it planting his foot hard into the side of its face.

The fire lion roared and charged towards the boy as Melanie breathed a sigh of relief, getting back to her feet and leaping towards the feline vertically swinging her hammer towards it. The lion was just about to pounce at Flint when it felt a hard blow to its head and passed out.

Flint blinked and said, "Wow, thanks Melanie," as the girl chuckled and said, "Hey, you saved me first."

The two stopped their conversation when they saw another fire lion pounce on a Cappy, sinking its fangs hard into his chest as he cried out in pain. The cries soon came to a halt as the man lay on the ground, his body torn open while the lion roared and turned towards the Kirbies.

"It's horrible, isn't it?" Melanie asked as Flint nodded and replied, "It certainly is, but you have to remember: no demon would ever negotiate with us. If we didn't kill them, they'd kill us."

Flint let down a small tear as Melanie sighed and patted him on the shoulder, the two glaring at the fire lion. Flint still hadn't completely gotten over the destruction of Norwal, but at least now he had a chance to exact his revenge on the very beings responsible.

Joe sent an onslaught of rapid punches to a Masher's face with fury in his eyes. After the trouble these very beings had put him through, he despised them with every fiber of his being. He would not rest until all of those destructive war machines were destroyed.

Metaknight threw his blade at Kirisakin only to have it blocked by the demon's claws. As the knight fought against the blade-like body parts, he failed to notice the beast lifting up his other hand, sending his other claws into the man's side.

Metaknight cried out in pain as his waist started to bleed, Kirisakin letting out a loud roar and holding his claws above his head, pointed toward the top of the knight's head. But just as the claws were about to hit, the demon's eyes went wide as the back of his neck started to bleed, Kirisakin roaring in frustration.

Metaknight breathed a sigh of relief, now ignoring the pain as he looked around for his savior. He assumed maybe it was Motoko, but the creature he saw was even more of a surprise.

This being was a young girl with snow-white skin and long flowing hair to match. She also wore a green headband and an orange sleeveless top. Along with that were blue eyeballs and red eyes, and in her hand was a sword with a small bit of blood from Kirisakin on the end, although the handle looked like far more than a typical sword handle.

The handle was actually gray, not silver, and it oddly had a trigger on it. The guard that the blade rested on looked more like a rocket launcher than anything.

The girl pressed the trigger on her sword, the blade retracting into the sword as she held it against her shoulder, pushing another trigger as a missile flew from the barrel, hitting the shocked Kirisakin hard in the face. Metaknight's eyes went wide at the sight of this as the girl continued her assault.

As the demon advanced towards the girl, she quickly pressed a green button on the side of the weapon as it changed to a thinner form, holding onto a new trigger as an array of bullets flew from it, Kirisakin flailing his arms around.

The girl then pressed one last button as a flame came from the weapon, Kirisakin's fur catching flame as he let out a loud roar, trying his best to put out the flames while the girl ran over to Metaknight. She let out a sigh and placed a hand on the knight's shoulder saying, "I expected better from you."

"Sirica..." Metaknight said with his eyes still wide open, "What are you doing here?"

"I've been seeking out Kirisakin for a while now," the girl replied with a look of anger, "After all, that thing killed my mother."

That was right. Sirica was Garlude's daughter. Metaknight understood more than ever the kind of pain she must have been going through. It seemed all of Metaknight's current friends had dead parents that he once knew.

The knight sighed and smiled under his mask saying, "You've certainly become quite the soldier," as the girl nodded, grinning at the man and asking, "What say we take this guy down together?"

As Kirisakin finally shook the flames off, Metaknight nodded in agreement. After all, he would have died had it not been for her.

Back in the castle, Motoko was taking full advantage of the army's absence. This time, she knew that no one would stop her. Even Metaknight had left to fight with the others. This was just too perfect of an opportunity to pass up.

The ninja's eyes sparkled as she gazed upon the green door. With Yamikage gone, who would stop her? She grinned and pulled out a dagger, picking at the lock until she heard a clicking sound. With that, she slowly opened the door and looked upon the lollipop, a big grin on her face.

But as she reached out to grab it, her eyes went wide as she heard a voice ask, "Miss Motoko, what are you doing?"

The ninja slowly turned towards the source, her mouth hanging open and her eye twitching as Fumu stood there with a confused look on her face. The princess blinked and asked, "Are you trying to steal the family treasure!?"

Motoko's look of shock soon turned to one of anger as she hurled a dagger towards the princess, the sharp object landing between her feet as the woman said, "You'd be best not to interfere. I'm not afraid to aim the next one at your skull!"

Fumu's eyes went wide as the girl backed up, trembling with fear. She knew it was helpless. It wasn't as if Fumu could fight very well.

No, now was not the time to think like that. She knew exactly what was going on. Motoko had deceived everyone and was going to use the ultimate power for evil purposes. There was no way Fumu would allow this.

As Motoko picked up the lollipop, she slowly inched it towards her mouth as the princess ran towards her. The ninja woman's eyes went wide as she quickly turned around, hurling a dagger towards Fumu's head.

Her eyes went even wider when Fumu managed to catch the dagger with her fingertips, leaping towards the ninja woman and kicking her hard in the face. The ninja flew backwards into the wall, dropping the lollipop as the princess took a deep breath saying, "Did I just do that?"

Motoko slowly rose to her feet, rubbing the back of her head with a look of fury on her face. Never had she felt so insulted. This had gotten annoying. Every time she tried to steal the ultimate power for herself, someone would always interfere.

But the worst thing wasn't the fact that her goals had been prevented yet again. No, the most insulting thing of all was that this time, she was being beaten by an average girl. Princess or not, Fumu was still average. She didn't have much experience in battle. The closest she had to that was when she turned Wiz's magic against him. She shouldn't have even landed a blow on Motoko.

"You are a lot more trouble than you're worth," the ninja woman said with a sigh as she charged towards Fumu, anger in her eyes. No one, not even royalty, was going to stand in her way now.

Spencer looked at his arm and chest and sighed with relief. One of the big advantages to being a Kirby was that wounds dealt to a Kirby healed more quickly than most others. And with his breath finally returned, the boy was more than ready to continue.

Joe continued his onslaught against the Mashers until one nodded to its comrade and lifted up a flail, ramming it hard into the fighter's back. Joe's eyes went wide as he rolled along the ground, soon coming to a halt as his eyes started to swirl. One Masher walked over to him and lifted its foot up as Flint, Melanie, Michael, Melody, Basil, Jason and Sam all noticed this, their eyes wide open.

"MASTER!!!!" they all shouted as Masher lowered its foot towards the unconscious boy.

At that moment, a strange feeling came over Flint. Seeing his own teacher in danger like this made him angrier than he'd ever been before. He'd already lost many close to him. He didn't want to lose another, especially not his instructor. Flint had failed to perform any of Joe's trademark techniques and yet the boy never lost any of his patience with the young Fighter Kirby.

Flint cupped his stubby hands together as energy started to form. Joe slowly turned his head towards the young Kirby, his eyes going wide. Was Flint using what Knuckle Joe thought he was?

The answer soon became clear as the boy shouted, "HADOKEN!!!!!!" a large ball of energy shooting from his hands and hitting the Masher hard in the chest, the armor cracking and soon exploding.

Joe's eyes sparkled at the sight of this as Flint ran over to him and lifted him up asking, "Are you okay?"

"Don't worry about me," Joe remarked with a grin as Flint slowly lifted up his master in an attempt to get him to safety.

However, this was easier said than done. Not only had that previous attack taken a lot of energy out of Flint, but all of the other Mashers were looking at him now. The suits of armor started swinging their flails around while the others looked at this with their eyes wide open.

Melanie growled and thought, 'I wish he wouldn't do such stupid things,' but knew she couldn't help him due to the Wolfwrath gnashing its teeth out at her.

Michael, Melody, Basil, Jason and Sam were also too busy fighting other demons as was the rest of the army. No one could help Flint right now... or so it seemed.

At that moment, the Yariko leapt at the Mashers, jamming their spears into the back of each one's head. Sparks flew as the Mashers angrily reached behind them, prying the spears out as the Yariko backed off. They knew that they had nothing left to attack with.

To make matters worse, they hadn't provided a good enough distraction as the suits of armor advanced towards Flint, flails raised. But just as they were about to strike, a familiar figure leapt in front of them shouting, "If you want him, you'll have to get through me!"

Flint froze and turned to the source as his eyes went wide. Joe was also just as shocked as the other Kirbies turned to the scene with disbelief. The owner of the voice was none other than Bun.

The boy glared at the Mashers and pulled a small ax out of his back pocket saying, "Get Knuckle Joe to safety, Flint. I'll hold them off for as long as I can."

Flint's eyes went even wider as he spat, "BUN, YOU AND I BOTH KNOW YOU CAN'T HANDLE AN ENTIRE ARMY OF THOSE THINGS!!!!!"

"I don't care," the boy remarked, gritting his teeth at the suits of armor before him, "All I've been doing is standing around giving orders to my people. I need to start taking action."

Flint let out a sigh and nodded in understanding. The others would have rushed in to help Bun had they not been tied up with their own business. The Yariko also couldn't help as they had run out of spears.

Bun charged at the Mashers, dodging each flail that came at him. He grinned, taking advantage of this as he leapt atop one of the flails, climbed up the chain towards one of the Mashers and rammed his ax hard into its face, the armor's head exploding as a result.

However, this didn't mean much. Bun was severely out-numbered, and as such, he was soon sent flying into the ground by one of the flails, crushed under its weight.

Melanie knocked out the Wolfwrath that had attacked her as she turned towards the scene, eyes wide open. Flint had just carried Joe to a safe area when he saw the event, his jaw dropped.

With that, the Masher that had attacked slowly reeled its flail back towards it as Bun's body just lay there, his arms spread out and his head tilted to the side. A puddle of blood surrounded him as tears filled Flint's eyes.

"NO!!!!!!!!!!" he cried as Melanie held her hands up against her mouth in disbelief.

She quickly ran over to the safe area where Flint and Joe were with tears in her eyes. Flint sniffed as Joe looked down with a look of sadness. War was truly a horrible thing and this only further emphasized that fact.

"He died for our sake," Flint said through tears, Melanie letting out a sigh saying, "He was a real hero, wasn't he?"

Joe nodded and said, "It pains me to think that all we're doing is sitting around here while the others endanger themselves. We need to get back into that battle and help."

Melanie nodded and said, "Flint, you try your best out there," as the Fighter Kirby nodded, running towards the Mashers and striking one hard in the side of the face.

"What about us?" Joe remarked with a look of anger, "I wanna help too!"

Melanie shook her head and set him down, pulling out small leaves and rubbing them over his wounds. Joe needed to recover from the fierce blow dealt to him earlier before he could return to the battle.

Metaknight and Sirica both leapt at Kirisakin with their swords raised and sent them downward, the demon lifting up his claws to block the incoming attacks. However, due to the combined strength of the two blades, the knight and the girl both managed to slice through the material, the top halves of the claws falling to the ground as Kirisakin's eyes went wide, the beast backing up in fear.

Metaknight turned to Sirica and nodded as the two leapt at Kirisakin once more, slicing his chest as blood started to trickle down. The demon cried out in pain as the two gave each other thumbs up.

However, their moment of happiness ended soon enough as Kirisakin shook off the pain and growled at them. Much to their dismay, his claws started to grow back until they were once again whole and even sharper than before, the demon grinning wickedly.

Back at the castle, Fumu was unconscious against a wall with a bit of blood trickling down her shoulder. Motoko took a deep breath and put away her dagger and grabbed hold of the lollipop.

"That was more of a pain than it should have been," the woman said with a sigh as she placed the candy in her mouth.

With all her might, she pulled her head back, prying the lollipop off of its stick and swallowing it whole. Being a Kirby, she could do that without choking.

The ninja woman blinked and stood silent as she looked at her hands, blinking once more. She didn't feel any different. Perhaps the lollipop didn't contain great power like the king had said.

However, that was soon proven wrong as her eyes started to glow yellow. With that, a white aura surrounded her body, a pair of angel wings appearing while the woman grinned wickedly. It was too late to stop her. Motoko had received the ultimate power.

Spencer had been wandering around the cave for almost an hour, once again finding no other demons. What was up with that? He'd heard of this cave being home to some of the world's deadliest monsters and yet so far, he'd only run into one.

The boy entered another room and noticed something odd. The entire room was full of darkness. There were no walls where the ground stopped and it looked as if he was outside. But how was that possible?

His eyes went wide when a large red lumpy triangle appeared at the left side of the little room, a long slit forming in the middle of it. Soon, a pair of floating golden rings appeared next to it followed by large white spheres with tiny black dots in the middle. Following all of this was a green gemstone, two tiny red dots over the gem and four green feathers sticking up into the air. When the boy saw a pair of floating hands made entirely out of stone appear, he realized that all of these odd shapes were forming a face, the rings being earrings.

"I see you have come here in search of the ancient treasure left long ago," came a big booming voice as the face's mouth opened up, "You have done well to come this far, but now you must face me, the guardian of this tomb!"

Spencer's eyes went wide, his jaw dropped. Whatever this being was, he was huge.

"Excuse me," Spencer asked, "but who exactly are you?"

The being's levitated one of the stone hands under his mouth and implied rubbing his chin with one finger as his eyes darted up while shifting back and forth. Spencer blinked at the sight of this. Why would one need to think about his own name?

The being snapped the fingers of his other hand and said, "Now I remember. I go under the name Wham Bam Rock."

Spencer's eyes went wide at the sound of this. He couldn't believe it. He had heard of the ancient Wham Bam Rock, but he was only a myth. He couldn't believe such a powerful being existed.

The giant hidden in the shadows looked down at the boy and pointed at him with his right stone hand while holding the other next to him in the shape of a fist saying, "If you are to get the treasure, you must prove yourself stronger than I."

"I heard that already," the Sword Kirby replied as Rock ignored his statement and pointed one of his pointing fingers up explaining, "I shall give you a hint. To defeat me in battle, you must attack what is not attached to me."

Not attached to him? What did that mean? Weren't all body parts attached to the owner? This only complicated things.

However, Spencer had no time to think one of the stone fists vanished, appearing over his head and descended towards him. The kid started to panic as he quickly leapt to the side, the fist slamming hard into the ground and causing a vibration. The fist stayed on the ground for five seconds before returning to the air, Spencer trembling with fear. Clearly, Wham Bam Rock was not to be taken lightly and the boy still didn't know what his weakness was. How could he possibly win such a battle?


	19. Chapter 19

Land of Kirby

Kirisakin let out a fierce roar and sent his claws towards Metaknight who simply held his blade up to block the incoming strike. He grunted as the two blades collided, Kirisakin clearly showing more power than before. But as it seemed the beast was going to overpower the knight, Sirica pressed a trigger on her weapon sending another missile into Kirisakin's face.

Kirisakin growled and swiped his arm forward, knocking Metaknight to the side as he charged towards Sirica. The girl's eyes went wide as she had no time to prevent him from sending her hard into a tree. Earlier, Kirisakin had been weakened by the rocket launcher setting. Why did it seem this time as if he'd taken in no pain?

At that moment, both Metaknight and Sirica knew the reason. Kirisakin's new claws somehow made his body stronger. Had Metaknight just left the demon's claws as they originally were, the battle would have been easier.

Spencer's eyes went wide as he ducked down, Rock's stone fist passing over his head as it slowly vanished from the area. But as the Sword Kirby breathed a sigh of relief, another fist came from behind, ramming him hard in the back and sending him tumbling into the wall.

Wham Bam Rock grinned with much confidence and said, "If you want to give up, you're free to do so."

Spencer recovered rubbing the back of his head and glared. There was no way he was going to lose after all he'd done to get this far. He just needed to figure out what the giant meant. What was his weakness? What did he mean when he said that Spencer had to attack the part not attached to his body?

His train of thought had to be put on hold, though, as the stone hand appeared over his head again, the yellow Kirby leaping to the side just in time to dodge it. Then he noticed it again: Much like the fist from earlier, the hand seemed to spend a couple of seconds on the ground to regain its strength.

'That's it,' Spencer thought as his eyes went wide, 'I have to destroy his hands.'

But how could one such as himself do that? After all, Spencer was using a sword and everyone knew swords weren't the most effective thing against rock.

However, that thought would have to wait as at that moment, Rock's left hand appeared quickly lowering itself towards the ground as it wrapped its stone fingers around Spencer's round squishy body. As the grip tightened, Spencer cried out in pain. This was horrible. How could he possibly get out of this.

The fingers continued to close in around the boy as he started to lose all focus, but then it hit him. This was a perfect opportunity to strike. He couldn't have asked to be closer to the enemy's weak spot right now. But Spencer had to do this right otherwise he was doomed.

The bow slowly shifted his blade until it was pointed upward. He then narrowed his eyelids and started to sway his body back and forth, tilting the blade forward until it touched up against the stone material. With that, the boy grinned and managed to overpower the hard grip, spinning his body around as his blade scraped against the hand.

Rock's eyes went wide as he quickly release his grip on the boy, Spencer dropping butt-first onto the floor. The boy grinned, feeling quite proud of himself right now while Wham noticed a crack forming on the palm of his hand.

"It seems you figured out my weakness," he said with a grin, "You're quite clever, but this is far from over."

Spencer would have felt alarmed by that statement had he not felt so confident right now. He had actually managed to figure out Rock's weakness. He had all the right to feel confident. After all, it was perfectly clear that Wham Bam Rock couldn't attack without his stone hands anyway, and with that in mind, his weakness would always be exposed each time he tried to harm the boy.

Metaknight was once again clashing blades against Kirisakin as the demon seemed to be overpowering him once again, Sirica's eyes burning with fury. She was tired of this. She just wanted that demon dead for all the pain it had caused over the past. With that, she let out a sigh and changed her weapon into its blade form, charging towards the beast and leaping towards him, planting the blade into his chest.

The beast's eyes went wide as blood trickled down his front, the monster backing up and clutching onto his heart. Metaknight took a deep breath and sat down in exhaustion saying, "Thank you, Sirica."

The girl let out a sigh and said, "It's finally over," only for her eyes to go wide with shock as the monster released a loud roar, prying the blade out of his chest and hurling it towards its owner.

Sirica's eyes went wide as she was too shocked to move, the blade piercing through the flesh on her shoulder. The girl grunted, prying the blade out of her bleeding skin and placed her hand up against the wound. She was in far too much pain to go on.

However, Sirica was not the kind to give up. She was determined to make sure Kirisakin suffered at all cost.

Metaknight had a look of concern as she slowly rose to her feet only to cry out in pain, falling back to the ground. Clearly her arm had sustained too much damage. She could barely even keep her eyes open right now.

"Sirica," Metaknight said holding his hand out as the girl slapped it to the side, causing more blood to fly out of her shoulder as she stuttered, "I-I c-c-can handle this... m-m-m-myself..."

"No," the knight replied, shaking his head, "You are in far too much pain, Sirica. I will deal with this monster on my own. You need medical attention."

The Amazon girl simply let down tears of both sadness and fury, nodding her head reluctantly. As hard as it was for her to admit, Metaknight was correct. Sirica was in no condition to continue fighting. She needed more than ever to put her trust in the man right now.

Metaknight slowly rose to his feet and thought, 'There's no way I can stand up to Kirisakin like this,' as he turned to Sirica and stated, "I hope you don't think any differently of me for this."

Sirica's eyes went wide as Metaknight's cape split into two halves. Then parts of the fabric transformed into flies, buzzing off into the distance as the cape now looked like a pair of bat wings, Metaknight flying towards Kirisakin and putting a swift cut through the spellbound beast's shoulder, Kirisakin's red eyes narrowing.

Sirica couldn't believe her eyes, but she wasn't the only one. From the distance, some of the subjects could see this too. Flint blinked, rubbing his eyes and subconsciously sending his foot backwards into an incoming Wolfwrath's jaw. Melanie's jaw dropped at the sight of her beloved knight taking such a form after she'd quickly knocked off a Masher's head.

Joe, who had just come back into the battle, couldn't believe what he was seeing either and the others pretty much felt the same. This ability Metaknight was using was a power that vampires excelled at. Why would Metaknight be able to use a power limited to vampires?

That didn't matter, though. The important thing was that the knight was winning. Kirisakin did all he could to strike the man, but Metaknight seemed one step ahead as he dodged each attack, delivering various slashes. He then proceeded to spin his body around with his sword pointed up into the air, a twister surrounding the knight as he flew towards Kirisakin.

The beast threw his claws towards the twister only for the tornado to force them back as Metaknight rammed the wind hard into Kirisakin's gut before planting his sword into the monster's foot. Kirisakin cried out in pain as Metaknight pulled his sword out, spinning upward and smacking the demon hard in the chin with his blade, more blood flying out.

What had frightened the others at first was now a gift from God in their eyes. Metaknight now seemed to have more than enough power and speed to defeat the destructive demon. Sirica let down a tear of joy and sniffed, quickly wiping it off her face. After all, she didn't want anyone to see her looking like a softie.

But nevertheless, the girl couldn't have felt happier right now. Soon her mother would be avenged.

Rock grinned wickedly as his hand once again formed above Spencer's head. The boy was ready this time. All he had to do was dodge it and strike it. However, rather than falling towards the ground, the hand started to twiddle its fingers, the fingers forming into small rocks and dropping down towards the boy.

Spencer's eyes went wide, the boy unable to respond as the rocks landed hard against his head, the boy soon buried underneath the hard substance. Wham Bam Rock sighed, implied folding his hands and shook his head saying, "Well, the boy put up a descent fight, I'll give him that."

His eyes went wide as his smile returned when one of the rocks rolled to the right, a small stubby arm coming up from the pile. Spencer slowly climbed out from under the rocks and breathed heavily saying, "Come on, I dealt with that annoying Chameleon earlier. This is nothing to me."

Rock smiled and nodded his head, failing to realize that his hands were still exposed as Spencer lifted up one of the rocks and hurled it towards the right hand, Wham Bam Rock's eyes going wide when a crack formed in the stone. The giant grimaced as the stones and hands vanished from sight. Sure, Spencer had survived that last attack, but he knew there was far more to come.

Kirisakin let out a loud roar as Metaknight soared past him, striking him hard in the side of the arm. However, the beast wasn't going down like this. As the knight moved in for another strike, the demon slammed his claws hard into the ground, a patch of dirt flying up in front of Metaknight's face.

"Did you really think that would work?" the knight asked as the beast's eyes went wide, the sound of something striking him hard in the chest.

Metaknight landed behind the demon as everyone stared in shock. Even Sirica was spellbound at the sight of a Metaknight's blade holding up a bleeding red object. Soon, a light shone from his blade as the object burst into tiny pieces, the blood that was one the blade vanishing.

Everyone simply stared in awe, jaws gaping wide open as blood poured out of Kirisakin's back, the demon crying out in pain before falling onto his back. There was no doubt about it. The demon had finally been dealt with.

"Well, it's finally over," Metaknight said with a grin under his mask, "Garlude, you've been avenged."

Sirica ran over to the knight with a smile on her face, tears running down as she placed a hand on his shoulder guard and said nothing. It was best not to question this odd transformation the man had performed. The point was that the demon leader was dead.

The army would have rejoiced as well had it not been for the fact that there were still many other demons alive. The worst part was that with their leader gone, the demons were furious. Now they were more determined than ever to win this battle.

The Wolfwraths opened their mouths, shooting flames all around the forest and lighting the trees on fire. Some of the Cappies and Waddle Doos were unfortunate enough to be standing near some of the trees that fell while some barely got out alive, their feet taking in a bit of the pain. The Fire Lions came together and formed into a giant flaming lion head, charging towards some of the fighters. Some unfortunately had their skin burned off, their bones being the only thing to remain, while others got out of the way in time, only to be burned slightly. The only good news was that all the Mashers had finally been destroyed.

Melanie looked down, sadness in her eyes as she said, "This is horrible! What did we ever do to the demons to deserve this, anyway?"

"This has gone on long enough!" Sam exclaimed as she charged towards the demons, her leg held back while Michael held his arm out shouting, "WE HAVE TO STAY TOGETHER!!!!!"

With that, he quickly turned to the others and spat, "COME ON, WE GOTTA HELP HER!!!!" as Melody shifted her eyes around, turned to Basil and Jason saying, "Yeah... we totally gotta help our friend!"

"Cut the act," Jason remarked, shaking his head and joining his allies as Basil placed a hand on the girl's shoulder saying, "There's more to life than popularity," running off to help his friends.

Melody's eye twitched as she sighed and rushed in as well. She was getting lectures from a guy who couldn't help himself at an all-you-can-eat buffet. She couldn't possibly sink any lower than that. And as hard as it was for her to admit, Basil was right. Many had lost their lives trying to protect others. Had they risked themselves to be loved? No, they'd gone into the battle knowing they could die because it was the right thing to do.

Joe, seeing his students rushing into the battle, naturally had no choice but to join them. This battle had gone on for far too long. It was time to end it, and with Kirisakin dead, they actually had hope now.

Flint and Melanie nodded at one-another and rushed into the battle as well. They needed everyone to help out right now.

Metaknight looked at the scene and let out a sigh turning to Sirica who simply moved her bleeding shoulder around with a confident grin. There was no way she'd sit this battle out. She wanted to help out just as much as everyone else.

Spencer noticed a clenched stone hand appear above his head as he leapt to the side, the fist landing hard into the ground. With that, he pulled his sword out and jammed it hard into the material as the crack became bigger, the hand eventually falling apart, tiny pieces falling to the floor.

Rock grinned and said, "I must admit, I'm impressed. I didn't think you'd make it this far," as Spencer grinned with pride. He was actually winning. He couldn't believe it.

When the left stone hand appeared over his head, he braced himself for the incoming attack. He had no idea what Wham Bam Rock would do this time around, especially now that he knew of the falling rock technique. However, whatever the giant did, the boy was now prepared. He had seen everything Rock had to offer. Nothing could surprise him now.

His tune soon changed when a puff of pink smoke appeared around the hand. When the smoke cleared, a large stone head with Rock's face engraved on it appeared. Spencer quickly leapt to the side as the head fell before him, exploding as soon as it hit the ground and sending the boy hard into the wall.

"I bet you weren't expecting that, were you?" the giant asked with a grin as the open hand loomed over the boy's head, coming down towards him.

No, it couldn't end like this. Spencer had been doing so well up to this point. He couldn't lose yet, he just couldn't. But what could the boy do? That bomb had taken a lot out of him and now he could barely even move his body.

As the hand descended down upon him, the boy quickly held his blade high above his head in desperation. But what good would that do?

He closed his eyes and cringed as the hand was only a second away from hitting him. Five seconds passed and the boy felt nothing. He slowly opened his eyes and blinked before his eyes went wide at the sight of stone surrounding his body.

"I can't believe it," Rock uttered as Spencer's eyes went wide.

He couldn't believe his eyes either, but there was no denying it. Spencer had destroyed the last of Wham Bam Rock's hands. It seemed that his blade had been too much for the cracked hand to take in.

"Congratulations," Rock said with a grin as the exit to the small room opened up, "You've passed the test. The treasure is yours for the taking."

Spencer's eyes sparkled as he let out a sigh of relief. He couldn't believe it. All of his work had actually paid off. If Metaknight could see him now, he would have been proud.

The boy's stomach soon growled as he playfully stuck out his tongue, remembering the rice ball under his cap. The boy quickly pulled it out as his look of joy turned to one of confusion. It seemed that the tasty treat had been squished when the rocks from earlier fell on Spencer's head.

The boy simply shrugged and ate it happily anyway. He had truly earned this small snack and there was no way this would be ruined by the fact that the rice ball now looked more like a pancake. The point was that the boy had finally passed the test.

However, things weren't looking so good for the others. Even Metaknight couldn't do much against the demons as they continued to overpower the others. But as a Wolfwrath rose its claws to strike one of the Waddle Dees, it felt a sharp blow to the back of its head as it fell to the ground. Melanie blinked when she noticed the object that had ended its life was a dagger.

The others turned as their eyes went wide. They couldn't believe it. Motoko had finally joined the battle. But something was different, and it didn't take long for the others to see it. She had a pair of wings coming out of her back.

But the army refused to question this as she proceeded to strike the other demons down, using every tactic she had. In only a mere minute, the battle was over and the demons had finally been slain. Sure, Motoko had an unexplained pair of wings, but did that really matter right now? The point was that the kingdom was safe, at least to the best of everyone's knowledge.

Everyone's joy soon turned to shock when the ninja woman grinned wickedly, flying towards Metaknight with her blade out. The knight quickly drew his own blade, blocking the incoming strike as his eyes narrowed.

"Miss Motoko, what are you doing?" he asked as the others nodded in agreement. Why would Motoko attack Metaknight?

Motoko simply let down a sigh and shook her head, chuckling wickedly as she knocked the knight's sword from his hands. Everyone gasped as the blade spun through the air before landing point-first into Dark Star's soil.

"So it was all a trick," the knight said as he backed up, accepting his loss, "I can't believe I didn't see it sooner. But I must ask... how?"

Motoko simply laughed and sheathed her blade explaining, "That lollipop was more than just a piece of candy. It was the source of ultimate power. Now that I have swallowed it, the power is mine!"

Flint blinked and waved his hands in front of his face shouting, "WHOA!!! Can someone explain to me what's going on here!?"

"Yeah!" Melanie spat, "What are you doing, Motoko? I thought you were our friend!"

Motoko's body started to twitch as everyone could hear a low chuckle. Soon, that chuckle turned into heavy laughter as the woman turned to them and said, "You're all so gullible. To be honest, I had expected at least someone to catch on by now."

Melanie fumed as the ninja woman stopped laughing and said, "I don't need friends. All I need to get by in life is power."

The Hammer Kirby gritted her teeth as she pulled out her hammer, charging towards the woman only for Motoko to take to the skies, dodging the incoming strike. She then proceeded to soar towards the ground, stopping herself behind Melanie and locking the girl in place, holding a dagger up to what one could call Melanie's neck.

"I am unstoppable now," Motoko said, "Is anyone else foolish enough to try?"

Flint had a look of fury in his eyes as the others felt helpless against the Ninja Kirby. What could they possibly do? It was as Motoko had said. She was invincible now. No one could do a thing to stop her.

Spencer slowly approached a chest atop a stone pedestal, a look of wonder in his eyes. This was it. He finally had the power of a true swordsman in his grasp.

The boy excitedly propped open the lid and slowly opened it up, his eyes going wide and his jaw dropped. Spencer's eye started to twitch as he shook his head with disbelief. This couldn't have been true. This had to be some kind of joke.

"I don't understand..." he said to himself, "There's nothing in here!"

It was as the boy had said. The chest was completely empty. The journey had been completely pointless. His battle with the Chameleoarm and defeating Wham Bam Rock... all of it had been for nothing. But how could this be? How could his efforts have been so meaningless?

As the boy lowered his head and pulled the warp star out of his cap, he noticed something odd in the chest. The boy blinked, wiping his hand across the bottom of the box and noticed writing on it.

"Congratulations," he read, "You have found my treasure. As such, you have truly proven yourself as a swordsman."

The boy blinked, reading over the words again and smiled. The ultimate swordsman power was nothing but a lure to get swordsmen to take the test. Spencer may not have received any special powers, but he had achieved something all the same. He had proven himself a true swordsman. After all, only one with skill and power could have done what he did today.

The boy happily placed his warp star against the floor as it expanded in size, the Sword Kirby stepping onto it as it hovered into the air before shooting towards the exit. Spencer was done here and that was that. Besides, the others were more than likely worried about him.

Little did he know that was the least of their worried. Motoko lifted up Melanie by her arm and hurled her into a tree saying, "You're not worth my time," as the others stepped forward to attack, Metaknight drawing his blade and saying, "Stand down."

"Good to see that you at least have a sense of reality," the ninja woman said as Metaknight nodded saying, "I have seen too many die today. If anyone's fighting you, it should be me!"

Melanie got up, rubbing her head as Flint ran over to the green Kirby and shouted, "We'll help too! She was the one who tricked my friends into bringing her here!"

"No," the knight replied, shaking his head, "None of you can stand up to her. Even I don't stand a chance, but I can at least try."

"You always were a brave soul," Motoko said with a grin, drawing out a dagger, "or maybe you're just foolish. Either way, it's good to know you at least know what you're getting yourself into."

"Let me help!" Sirica spat as the knight turned to her, shook his head and remarked, "No one is to help me."

Sirica was about to protest once again until she saw the look in the man's eyes. She simply sighed, nodding her head and backing off. She just hoped that Metaknight wouldn't die, as did everyone else. Joe also wanted a piece of the ninja woman, but just like Sirica, he knew that it was best not to question Metaknight during dire times.

Motoko and Metaknight flew towards one-another, sharp objects out as they passed each other. All was silent as the two performed a forward flip, landing firmly against the ground. Had either of them even been harmed?

The answer soon became clear as a small cut appeared on Motoko's arm, the ninja woman grinning as blood shot out from Metaknight's elbows. The knight collapsed as the flied returned, his cape returning to normal. Everyone was spellbound at the sight of this. Metaknight had lost the fight. If he couldn't defeat Motoko, who could?

Motoko walked over to the knight who was barely breathing at this moment and grinned saying, "I was actually going to let you off with a warning, but since you did put a cut in my arm, I don't think you should be in this world anymore."

The knight's eyes were wide as the ninja woman held up her blade, Melanie screaming, "NO!!!!!" while the others prevented her from advancing forward.

"Don't bother," Flint said as Melanie struggled while she retorted, "WE HAVE TO HELP HIM!!!!"

"He did this to himself," Joe stated as Melanie blinked, the boy letting out a sigh and adding, "He chose to fight, even though he knew he would lose. He knew his fate. We can't do a thing about this."

But as the blade started to descend, the knight shutting his eyes tight, Motoko's eyes went wide as she felt something hit her back, her eyes lowering to see a sharp golden object sticking out of her belly. Everyone's eyes went wide as their jaws dropped at the sight of a familiar figure ramming his sword into the ninja's back.

Metaknight's blinked as Motoko grinned saying, "Somehow, I figured you'd ruin my moment of glory, Spencer," as the yellow swordsman grunted, "I should have known you were evil from the start!"

Motoko let out a sigh and inched her body forward, the blade sliding out as she quickly turned to the boy and said, "Well, this day got more interesting," while everyone was still in shock.


	20. Chapter 20

Note: I am so sorry for the super long wait, guys! If any of you have noticed this chapter, you are awesome! The reason it took me so long as first was because I didn't know how to start this one. Yeah, dumb reason, but it's a thing with me. Then after a while, I just didn't feel I could get back into this story. I was wondering if I could even remember what these characters were like without reading the whole thing from start to finish. Well, I have finally gotten over my funk and now I'm gonna continue this story as I feel it's one of my best works and it's a shame I let it go unfinished for so long.

This was it. It was now all up to Spencer. But could a mortal Sword Kirby possibly defeat the immortal ninja? To make matters even worse, Motoko's cuts from earlier had vanished as if they'd never been inflicted in the first place. Although while most were surprised by this, Metaknight simply shook his head, knowing this would happen.

However, confidence soon returned to the people as Flint rose his arm in the air shouting, "COME ON, SPENCER, KICK HER DECEITFUL ASS!" Melanie nodding before saying, "Yeah, don't let everyone's sacrifices be in vain."

"Sacrifices?" Spencer asked before turning toward the group, his eyes going wide at the sight of all the demon beasts lying dead, all the skeletons of the soldiers who had given their lives and worst of all, poor Bun's corpse full of holes. What would Fumu think if she saw this?

"What happened while I was gone?" the Sword Kirby asked, all going silent until the others narrowed their eyelids and spat, "YOU MEAN YOU ONLY JUST NOTICED!?" Spencer laughing nervously, a sweat drop pouring down his face as Motoko tapped her foot, resting her hand against her sword asking, "So... um... are we gonna fight or what?"

Spencer nodded and turned to her, gritting his teeth as Motoko sighed, "Look, Spencer, I know you probably have no clue what's going on right now, and I actually kind of admire you, so I'll give you a little warning," before pointing at her wings and asking, "You see these? Well, there's a reason these are here."

Spencer blinked as the ninja proceeded to explain, "Recently, I discovered that hidden object the king has been trying to protect all this time was a lollipop. Now, I was very, very disappointed when I first heard this," Spencer asking, "Parm was guarding a piece of candy?" Motoko holding up her hand, the boy making a zipper motion across his lips as she smiled and bowed her head before adding, "Well, as it just so happens, this lollipop is the ultimate weapon of the kingdom. They say whoever licks it gains invincibility for a brief period of time."

Everyone else stared in absolute shock at the sound of this, Metaknight blinking and asking, "So the king wasn't just harbouring candy for himself?" Motoko laughing and saying, "That's right. I'm the only one he trusted the secret with! God, that man is such an idiot! How this kingdom has survived all this time with him in charge..." many subjects gritting their teeth and growling at the ninja as she rolled her eyes saying, "Okay, okay, I'll get to the point," the girl then adding, "Anyway, I figured if a single lick can do that momentarily, then maybe eating the whole thing would result in a permanent effect, and what do you know? I was right right!"

Spencer held up his blade, his body shaking as he continued to hold his sword up, a serious look still in his eyes and Motoko rolled her eyes. Despite what he'd heard, he was still willing to risk his life for the kingdom. Seeing this, Metaknight simply smiled under his mask. He could tell that Spencer had passed the test and right now he needed confidence in his student.

With that in mind, he stood his ground, giving the others a look of confidence. Sirica thought this was crazy, but she simply nodded and held her ground. After all, no one else truly believed they could find a way around this. Then again, even Spencer wasn't so sure of this. After all, how could he bring down someone who was invincible?

No, he couldn't think about that. Right now, the most important thing was saving the kingdom from destruction. With that in mind, he charged forward, Motoko letting out a yawn and taking to the skies, Spencer coming to a halt in the spot she had originally stood in before leaping upward, the ninja's eyes going wide as Spencer's blade ran right up her front section. How had Spencer of all Kirbies managed to jump that high?

Right now, that wasn't important. The ninja simply ignored this as she kicked the swordsman hard in the face, sending him careening hard into the ground, Spencer sliding across the dirt before ramming head-first into a tree, his eyes swirling.

"That was pretty good," the girl said, the cut vanishing as she pulled out a set of daggers adding, "but if the great Metaknight himself couldn't defeat me, how can you?"

Spencer tried to get up when a dagger flew straight through his hat, pinning it up against the tree. The Sword couldn't believe this. After all, the hat was a Sword Kirby's pride. He couldn't just leave it. However, when he saw more daggers coming, he realized he had no choice in the matter as he rolled to the side, the daggers running into the tree.

Melanie sighed with relief as Flint bit his lip, Metaknight simply grinning under his mask and nodding his head in approval. Spencer had made a small sacrifice for his own safety. That was certainly a big step, and it wasn't as if Spencer couldn't fight without his cap.

With that in mind, the swordsman charged at Motoko again, the ninja simply pulling out her blade and flying forward, vanishing as Spencer stopped dead in his tracks, the ninja appearing right behind him and slashing him hard in the back, the boy's eyes wide open, his jaw dropped as a huge cut formed in that exact spot, blood flying out as he fell forward flat on his face.

Joe fumed and held his arm, winding up his fist shouting, "ALRIGHT, LEMME AT HER!" Sirica grabbing his arm and saying, "No, Metaknight wants him to fight this battle himself," Joe glaring at the woman and barking, "I DON'T CARE WHAT METAKNIGHT SAYS! I CAN'T LET THIS GO ON ANYMORE!" the knight turning to face the fighter and remarking, "Spencer is my top student! I have nothing but my full trust in him, got that!?" Joe glaring at the knight before a calm look took over, the fighter letting out a sigh of defeat and muttering, "Well, he'd better win..."

Spencer slowly climbed back to his feet, a strange aura surrounding him as Motoko stared, laughing like a hyena before exclaiming, "You're just too much, Spencer! Come on, why can't you just accept the fact that you've lost this one!?" Spencer scowling at her as she added, "Come on, I know damn well that you are more than familiar with the concept of failure!" the Sword Kirby wincing in response to this as the ninja added, "After all, Spencer, you have lost every battle I've seen you in so far," the swordsman closing his eyes tight, gritting his teeth and shaking all over, Metaknight looking with concern, thinking, 'Don't listen to her...'

However, just when it seemed Spencer had lost all self confidence, the swordsman simply looked up with a grin and replied, "You're right, I have lost a lot of battles, haven't I?" Motoko blinking, no one really expecting this kind of reaction as Spencer's sword started to emit a powerful glow, the Sword Kirby adding, "but hey, no one's born great. You have to earn that greatness, and today I certainly managed to do just that. No one, NO ONE will step on old Spencer and live to tell about it again!"

At that moment, all went silent as Spencer held his sword up over his head, Motoko staring in aw, her body twitching as she couldn't move. She knew what was coming, she knew she had to avoid it at all cost yet she was too scared to do a thing about it.

The others watching couldn't believe what happened next either as Spencer sent his sword downward, a bright light in the shape of the moon shooting from it. He'd finally done it. He'd finally unleashed a perfect Sword Beam, the great power passing straight through Motoko's body, leaving a huge gash on both sides. Blood poured from her body as she started to feel weak.

'How?' the ninja thought, her eyes rolling to the back of her head, 'I was supposed to be immortal...' Metaknight giving Spencer thumbs up, the boy feeling rather weak after using such a powerful moving, holding his hand up in a way that implied he was raising an imaginary thumb to his mentor.

Everyone cheered wildly, Flint raising his fist shouting, "AW YEAH, BOY! THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!" Melanie whistling with admiration exclaiming, "YOU RULE, SPENCER!" Melody simply staring at this and saying, "So that's true fighting spirit..." Micheal placing a hand on her shoulder and replying, "You finally understand," the brown Kirby nodding with a smile.

However, things took a turn for worse when the wounds vanished, Motoko's eyes returning to their normal position as she blinked, her wings still in place, the girl's heart still beating. All went silent as Metaknight uttered, "So even the Sword Beam couldn't stop her..." Spencer's jaw dropped, his mouth twitching all the while as he uttered, "B-b-b... how? No..." Motoko letting out a maniacal laugh shouting, "OH MY GOD, THIS LOLLIPOP IS THE BEST!" the ninja then saying, "That was fun, but I'm bored now!" the ninja charging at the swordsman with her blade at the ready, but just as she was about to kill him, Metaknight running right into the area and shoving Spencer out of the way, taking in the slash instead. Luckily for him, though, his mask protected him as it was cut in half, soon revealing his real face as everyone stared in absolute silence.

"Oh my god..." Flint said, Joe resisting the urge to laugh at such a crucial moment while Melanie's eyes filled with more hearts, the girl saying, "He's a fellow Kirby, and his face is so cute!" Metaknight sighing, "Yeah, yeah, go ahead and laugh... right now, I don't care what you all think of me."

Sirica smacked the back of Joe's head as the fighter chuckled nervously, letting down a sweat drop and saying, "I wasn't going to laugh, honest," rubbing the back of his head while his students glared at him muttering sarcastically, "Mm-hm!"

Motoko, however, broke out into absolute hysterics before stopping herself and saying, "Hey, you just butted in you hypocrite!" Metaknight sighing, "I didn't step in before because I was certain Spencer could stop you," Motoko grinning wickedly and remarking, "Well, now that you know the truth, you should realize you have no chance in Hell of killing me."

Metaknight braced himself for the worst as the ninja simply kicked him hard in the face, the knight rolling into a rock as Sirica growled, "Dammit, she's toying with him..." Joe barking, "I DON'T CARE IF IT'S HOPELESS! WE STILL HAVE TO TRY!"

With that, the fighter lunged at the ninja, throwing his fists forward at a rapid pace only for the woman to easily dodge, sending Joe flying into a tree, Spencer uttering, "Please... stop..." Sirica shooting a flame at her only for Motoko to spin, the wind from her wings putting it out as she proceeded to fly backwards with both feet sticking out like a spear head, ramming hard into Sirica's gut.

Melanie proceeded to whack Motoko in the back of the head only for the ninja to smack her hard in the face, Melanie tumbling along the ground as Flint held her, knowing he was too weak to fight after putting so much energy into his Hadouken earlier.

After that, Motoko said, "You all amuse me so much that I'm willing to make a deal with you. If you all pledge allegiance to me and make me your queen, I'll spare each and every one of you," Metaknight getting up and rushing at the ninja only for her to scowl at him, sending a dagger hard into his shoulder.

Metaknight ignored the blood dripping from him as Motoko sent another into him, Metaknight fuming and breathing heavily as the ninja sighed, "You truly are a stubborn one, aren't you?" but just as she was about to hurl a dagger into his skull, something odd happened, a strange something that caused everyone to stop what they were doing.

Metaknight's eyes had turned a bright red, Melanie staring at him and asking, "Metaknight, are you okay?" wings coming from the knight's back. However, unlike the bat wings from before, these weren't formed from his cape. These ones naturally came out of his skin, forcing his cape to fly off of him. As if that wasn't strange enough, Metaknight's hands transformed into those of a reptilian creature, sporting sharp claws on the fingertips. Soon, his entire arm resembled this, his body transforming as well, his face stretching out before forming a long snout, the knight now resembling the head of a dragon. Soon enough, his feet became reptilian as well, a long snake-like body growing from his upper body, growing and growing until it soon became that of a serpent dragon, his feet located close to the end, his hands now relocated to their proper spot.

All went silent as everyone stared in absolute shock and horror, Motoko's wings drooping a bit as her mouth twitched. Melanie's eyes rolled to the back of her head as she placed her hand against her forehead and fainted, Flint catching her. Spencer stared in absolute terror, confused as to why his mentor had never told him about this. Sirica and Joe stared with their eyes wide open and their jaws dropped. They couldn't believe their eyes, but it was all true: Metaknight had just turned into a big black serpent dragon.

The dragon glared at Motoko who simply slapped herself across the face shouting, "GET AHOLD OF YOURSELF, GIRL!" before grinning and adding, "I must admit, you have truly surprised me, Metaknight, but no matter what form you take, you still can't beat me."

With that, the ninja took to the skies, flying above the dragon, Metaknight following her upward as she hurled a row of daggers into his face. However, the knives seemed to have no effect as the dragon flew hard into her, Motoko spinning backwards away from him, her eyes swirling as she placed her hand against the side of her head, shaking it and regaining focus, pulling out her blade and letting loose and energy slash right into Metaknight's midsection.

This once against proved ineffective as the knight proceeded to open his mouth, a black, blue and red flame forming before launching itself toward the ninja, Motoko simply smiling with confidence and taunting, "That won't work!" her look of confidence soon becoming one of absolute terror when the flames got near, the ninja unable to respond in time as the flames hit her hard, covering her entire body.

Motoko had ended up breathing some of the fire in, and this proved to be the worst thing she could ever do as right after doing so, her wings vanished, the ninja falling toward the ground and landing hard on her back. Everyone stared in confusion save for Spencer who knew right away what had happened. When the flames had entered Motoko's mouth, they went into her stomach and melted the lollipop. Now the ninja's invincibility was gone.

Motoko trembled and laughed nervously saying, "Look, I'll accept any punishment you can think of, just please don't..." Metaknight clearly not listening as he sent his claw forward, piercing the ninja's flesh as her eyes and mouth were wide open, her eyes rolling to the back of her head as she was down for good. There was no doubt about it: she was truly dead now.

But as everyone was about to rejoice, it soon became clear that Metaknight truly was out of control, the dragon then shooting flames in various random directions, the soldiers fleeing for their lives. However, escape seemed impossible when Metaknight ended up forming a huge wall of fire around the entire area, many trees burning as a result.

However, Spencer had enough now. The Sword Kirby rose to his feet, holding up his sword and thinking, 'Forgive me, master,' the others staring in shock as Flint protested, "Spencer, don't be a fool! You saw how ineffective Motoko's weapons were against him! You'll end up like her!" Spencer barking, "I DON'T CARE!" heading toward where his cap had been pinned and noticing the warp star had fallen out just as he figured it had.

Picking it up, Joe stared at him before shouting, "This is no time for collecting rocks!" before noticing the shape of this supposed 'rock' and realizing what it was instantly, Sirica asking, "Do you know what that is?" Joe nodding and saying, "It's the warp star, but how did it get all the way here?"

"I brought it with me," Spencer replied before throwing it against the ground, the star expanding in size as the swordsman leapt onto it, Melanie regaining consciousness just in time to see this, asking, "What's he doing!?" Flint sighing, "There's no stopping him now..."

With that, the Kirby headed toward the dragon with his sword glowing, Metaknight glaring at him, his eyes glowing briefly as he proceeded to shoot a flame at the boy. However, Spencer ignored this as he pointed swung his sword to the side, miraculously releasing a second Sword Beam, everyone staring in absolute shock as the beam went through the flames, causing them split apart while the beam soon hit the dragon hard, his eyes going wide as the beam went through his chest, the dragon trying his hardest to maintain focus when Spencer soared straight passed him, putting a huge cut on his side.

That was that. The dragon's body started to shrink, slowly descending towards the ground as Metaknight returned to his original state, the knight passing out while Spencer had lost most of his energy, landing softly against the ground before resting on the warp star.

With that, the battle was finally over. The demon beasts were all dead, Motoko was no longer a threat and Metaknight was back to his old self. Despite his transformation, though, no one hesitated to take immediate care of the unconscious knight, Melanie helping Sirica and Joe pick him up, Joe asking, "You think you can walk all the way back to the castle?" Melanie nodding and replying, "The power of love always triumphs in the end," Joe and Sirica staring awkwardly at one-another before looking at Melanie, Joe shrugging his shoulders as all three carried the knight back toward the castle.

Michael helped Flint up as Melody said, "You and the others rest up. I'll take him back to the castle," Michael about to respond to this when he saw how serious she was, nodding as he headed back with the others, Sam asking, "You know she's just looking for attention, right?" Michael shaking his head and replying, "Not this time."

With that, the survivors returned to the kingdom, all of the soldiers returning to their homes. Of course, many families wept the losses of their members during the battle, some kids even winding up orphans as a result of the whole ordeal. Memu, Parm and Fumu were soon given the tragic news of Bun's death, Flint personally telling them himself as he still felt a strong attachment toward Fumu despite her rejection earlier.

Needless to say, all three were choked up, but Fumu's case was the absolute worst. Her immediate reaction was to run towards Flint, beating her fists against his body not because she blamed him but because she needed some way to help ease the pain, all the while cursing Bun's name and bad-mouthing him for his rash behaviour, Parm and Memu understanding entirely that she didn't mean it. After taking out all her frustration, Fumu embraced Flint while crying heavily, Flint patting her on the back. He knew full well how she felt. After all, he had lost his mother the day Spencer and Melanie had taken off on their journey to find New Pupupuland.

The Yariko were also saddened by the loss of their chief, holding a funeral for the boy while quickly passing down his position to another, knowing they had to follow this tradition no matter what the circumstances. Needless to say, Bun was also given a funeral back home. Everyone who had shunned him and viewed him as a traitor now saw him as a hero. He had gone down doing the right thing and that was truly something to remember him for.

Metaknight had been unconscious for an entire week, Spencer checking up on him every now and then, Melanie beyond worried for his health. Right now, no one seemed to care about these demonic powers he possessed. Metaknight was still the hero of the kingdom and no one would ever forget the good he had done for them over the years.

Flint continued his training with Joe, training even harder than ever before so he could learn to use the Hadouken without expelling so much energy. The others also trained extra hard, especially Melody now that she knew just how precious the lives of others were.

When Spencer wasn't checking up on Metaknight and spending time with his friends, he was busy training all by himself. He wasn't going to let the knight's state cause him to slip up. He had finally mastered his sword and he wasn't going to let that go, especially if it would guarantee something like this never happening again.

Sirica didn't feel like returning home as she wanted to make sure Metaknight was okay as well. As such, she volunteered to the join the army, everyone more than happy to accept her help. After all, Sirica was almost as powerful as Metaknight, so she would certainly be a helpful asset.

The upside to everything that had transpired though was that demon beasts didn't seem to come to the castle anymore. It seemed word had gotten out all over the planet that the best of the best, Kirisakin, had been defeated by a 'soldier of New Pupupuland'. This struck fear and terror into all demon beasts and thus they refused to ever enter those lands again.

After the week was done, Fumu was still in a stump. Memu and Parm tried not to let Bun's death get the better of them, knowing he wouldn't want them to be depressed. Fumu simply couldn't. She hadn't spoken all week and had barely even touched her food during this time. Seeing this going on during dinner once again, Flint frowned and got up asking, "May I be excused from the table?" Parm looking up and blinking before saying, "Why, sure you can, my lad," Melanie looking at him and whispering to Spencer, "Is this really a good time for him to be doing this?" Spencer replying, "Right now, that girl needs all the help she can get."

With that, Flint walked over to Fumu and tapped her on the shoulder, the princess looking up as he asked, "Can you show me where the bathroom is, again?" the princess nodding before slowly getting up, not saying a word as the two walked down the hall, a nurse running right past the two and saying, "Everyone, Metaknight's finally woken up," Memu saying, "My, that's wonderful news," Parm nodding and adding, "Indeed. I'll tell Kawasaki to whip him up something right away," Melanie getting up and replying, "Don't bother. I'm not hungry," carrying her plate to his room as Spencer got up saying, "I think I'll give him my share too."

With that, both walked off as Joe said, "They really are an amazing bunch, aren't they?" Sirica nodding and saying, "So you say that Spencer kid predicted the destruction of his hometown," Joe folding his arms saying, "I wouldn't have believed it had his home not actually been destroyed the night he left."

Sirica then smiled and said, "You know, Joe, you're quite a tough guy," Joe blinking and grinning before flexing and replying, "Naturally," Sirica smiling for the first time in her life before adding, "You're almost as good as I am," Joe scowling and barking, "What was that!?" Parm sighing, "Please, not at the dinner table, you two?" Michael, Melody and Jason snickering, Sam simply blinking at this while Basil was too focused on his food to care.

While walking down the hall, Flint stopped midway as he looked Fumu in the eyes, resting his hands on her shoulders and saying, "Fumu, this has gone on long enough," the princess blinking before looking down, Flint groaning, "Look, when my family died, I was devastated too. But I didn't let it get to me because I knew my parents wouldn't want me to. I moved on, I got over it. Yes, I still think about them all the time, and I know how hard this must be, but dwelling on horrible events of the past will not help!"

Fumu glared at Flint for a while, ready to slap him but soon realized he was right, the princess lowering her hand and biting her lip, letting down light tears and sniffing, "You're right..." Flint blinking and asking, "Wait, I said the right words?" Fumu giving him a hug, a smile forming as she sniffed, "Thank you, Flint. You're a good person," the girl still holding him while looking into his eyes with a smile, leaning forward and kissing him on the forehead asking, "You still interested in that date?" Flint's eyes going wide, his heart pounding like mad as he nodded, saying nothing in response as Fumu wiped the tears from her eyes, a cheerful look on her face as she said, "Thank you so much. You're absolutely right. I need to focus on a better future and right now, I think I just made mine better."

With that, the princess walked back to the dining hall to join her family, Flint's body turning beet red as he collapsed, lying on his back before lifting his arms into the air shouting, "SCORE ONE FOR ME!"

All the while, Spencer and Melanie were with Metaknight, the man gladly accepting their food. Normally he would have turned it down, but after being unconscious for a whole week he was starving.

"Are you sure I turned into a dragon?" he asked as Spencer asked, "When have I ever lied to you?" the knight chuckling, "Good point," rubbing his head and adding, "Thank you so much for stopping me. If anything bad happened to the kingdom on my account..."

"Don't say that," Melanie remarked, "You didn't know what was going on. You're a wonderful person."

Metaknight laughed a bit before saying, "They tell me you tended to my wounds and applied herbs to my cuts," Melanie blushing a bit before replying, "Well, I do have quite a bit of medical knowledge," Metaknight replying, "A fighter who can also heal, a winning combination if I ever saw one," the knight then looking at Spencer and adding, "I'm proud of you, Spencer. You surpassed my expectations of you and passed with flying colours," Spencer bowing his head and replying, "That means a lot coming from you."

The Sword Kirby then got up and said, "Anyway, I'll leave you two to discuss whatever. I need to go do other things," Spencer exiting the room as Melanie watched him, mouthing the words 'Thank you', Metaknight waving goodbye to him. The knight had never felt so cheerful in his life. He was just so happy that Spencer had become as strong as he had.

During this time, a bit of a distance from the kingdom, a certain quartet of elemental Kirbies were now standing before a big shrine. At last Purazuma the Plasma Kirby, Tatsumaki the Tornado Kirby, Koori the Ice Kirby and Houka the Fire Kirby had found the area they were looking for.

"Finally, our mission is complete," Tatsumaki said with a smile, Houka sighing, "About damn time," Purazuma sighing, "Now I can finally rest my feet..." Koori adding, "Well, this is it."

But what was the purpose of them coming to this shrine? What was their reason for going on this quest?


	21. Chapter 21

After Spencer left, Melanie smiled at Metaknight and said, "You know, I think you look fine without the mask. In fact, I actually kind of prefer it," her cheeks turning pink, the blue knight blinking and asking, "So... you don't think I'm too cute?" Melanie shaking her head and replying, "Hey, the rest of us Kirbies are round and puffy, but you don't see us trying to hide it."

Metaknight nodded and smiled before looking at the remains of his mask, which had been placed next to his bed. Melanie turned to face it and explained, "Spencer felt keeping it there would help you be at ease."

"Throw it out," Metaknight said rather abruptly, Melanie staring wide-eyed at the man as he pointed at the two halves of the mask adding, "I never want to see that mask again."

Metaknight seemed surprisingly calm about saying such a thing. Was he serious? His mask was his pride and joy. He wore it as a means of maintaining a sense of strength and it made him look intimidating to all who opposed him.

"May I ask why?" Melanie enquired, the knight nodding and replying, "I've decided I don't need it anymore. You're right, Melanie, I shouldn't be ashamed of who I really am."

Melanie nodded and smiled softly, picking up the fragments and placing them in the trash bin right next to the bed, Metaknight bowing his head in thanks. With that out of the way, the Hammer Kirby was finally ready to tell her beloved knight how she felt. Both of them had almost died last week. She simply couldn't hold this off any longer. After all, when would she get another chance?

"Metaknight, I need to tell you something..." Melanie uttered, her cheeks flushed pink as the knight blinked, replying, "Well, let it out," the female letting out a sigh and stating, "I love you..."

All went silent as Metaknight stared, his eyes wide open, his jaw dropped and a dumbfounded expression on his face. In hindsight, it really should have been obvious. How had he not caught onto this? However, that wasn't the only thing bothering him right now.

But just as he was about to explain the issue, Melanie added, "I've been in love with you for so long. Your strength, your spirit, your skills and now that I've gotten to know just what kind of Kirby you are, I love you even more!" then taking his hand she knelt down and added, "Sir Metaknight, I don't care if you have demonic powers! You are still the greatest man who ever lived and as such, I want more than anything to marry you and have kids of our own. We can even fight demon beasts together, or I can stay at home and keep the place neat and tidy until you get back! We could even trade shifts! I may not be good enough to completely replace you, but..."

"Stop, please..." Metaknight remarked, holding up his hand as Melanie blinked, letting out a deep breath, pleased with herself for letting this all out as the knight said, "Melanie, you're a nice girl. You're very strong and skilled and you have a kind heart. You are truly the kind of Kirby I wouldn't mind spending my life with," Melanie's eyes sparkling, a big smile forming as the knight added, "But it simply can't work."

"But..." Melanie sniffed, tears rolling down her cheeks as she bit her lip, just about ready to run out of the room when Metaknight sighed, "Do you know how old I am?"

Melanie blinked, her tears still coming down as she said, "I always figured you were in your mid-twenties, but that shouldn't be a big deal, right?" Metaknight sighing, "I am 50 years old," all going silent, a look of absolute shock and terror now stuck on the Hammer Kirby's face. Melanie refused to believe what she had just heard. Sir Metaknight, the man of her dreams, a man she had been in love with for so long as more and twice her age. He was right, it really couldn't have worked.

But it all made sense. Logically, Melanie should have realized he'd be somewhere around that age from the start. After all, Metaknight had been famous for defeating demon beasts since before Melanie was even born. He fought alongside Knuckle Joe and Sirica's parents. Melanie had first heard of him and his exploits when she was only three years old and developed her feelings towards him at the age of seven.

With all this in mind, the Kirby looked down and sniffed, planting her fist against the floor and groaning, "How could I have been so stupid?" Metaknight sighing, "Look, Melanie, you're the not the first one to act like this around me. When you're a powerful star soldier famous across the galaxy, you have to learn to deal with this sort of thing on a regular basis. Fame has the power to cloud the minds of the young. Your feelings towards me are only natural, and you know what? It took a lot of guts to say what you just did."

"Really?" Melanie replied, sniffing before Metaknight nodded and smiled, patting her on the head and saying, "You'll find your Prince Charming someday, and when you do, he will be one lucky man," Melanie smiling and wiping her tears, giving Metaknight a hug before exiting the room, the knight taking a deep breath. He was just glad he hadn't completely crushed her soul.

During this time, the four elemental Kirbies had entered the big shrine, the quartet approaching a large crystal. Tatsumaki turned to the others and nodded, the other three nodding back. With that, Tatsumaki blew a strong gust of wind onto the crystal, causing it to glow a brilliant shade of white.

Houka followed this up by shooting a flame at it, forming red stripes to go with the white, both lights now swirling around inside the crystal. Koori blew ice into it as well, causing blue stripes to appear as Purazuma finished it off by letting loose a huge volt of electricity into the relic, green stripes forming as well.

Tatsumaki smiled and said, "Well, we did it," the shrine suddenly vibrating as Purazuma trembled, asking, "Why is the area shaking?" holding onto Koori, the Ice Kirby blinking and replying, "I have no idea..."

Suddenly, a dark aura filled the area, the darkness soon travelling to one particular spot and forming what looked like a giant mirror. All four stared at this as Houka fumed, holding his ground. He could feel it: something was coming and it wasn't going to be pretty.

His suspicions were proven true when a large grey hand with razor sharp claws that took up half of each finger came out, all four in extreme panic as Houka instinctively shot a flame at the hand, the owner clearly ignoring the burn that had formed as a result and grabbing all four, dragging them into the mirror.

After that, the mirror floated out of the shrine, headed toward New Pupupuland. Just what was going on? What was up with this mirror and who was the owner of this big hand?

At around this time, Flint and Spencer had just been told of Melanie's discovery the Hammer Kirby herself, Spencer blinking and saying, "I'm really sorry you had to deal with that," Flint stating, "So... let me get this straight... Metaknight is 50?" Melanie letting out a deep breath and sighing, "It's okay, though. I'm a strong girl. I can deal with this."

"Well, it's good to know you're at least being a grown-up about the whole thing," Spencer replied, Melanie nodding before turning to Flint and saying, "Congratulations. I hope your date with the princess goes well," Flint blinking, his eyes going wide as he barked, "HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT!?" Spencer shrugging his shoulders and replying, "I know about it too," Flint remarking, "BUT WE ONLY JUST AGREED TO IT, LIKE, AN HOUR AGO!" Spencer sighing, "It's a date with the princess. That's a really big deal," Flint scowling until Parm and Memu suddenly appeared behind him, the two smiling bright as Parm asked, "I say, Flint, old bean, may I talk to you in private?" Memu chuckling, "Oh, honey, I'm joining in on this conversation."

Upon hearing this, Flint turned and trembled, his jaw dropped. He knew exactly what this was about and he feared the worst, but knew he had no choice but to follow them to a private location. After all, they were the law of the land. Anything they said went.

As Flint was taken to the throne room, he looked nervously at the two and said, "So, you've probably heard a rumour going around..." Memu replying, "Oh, don't look so nervous. We simply want to give you advice," Flint adding, "I just want you to know that..." his eyes going wide, the boy turning to face the queen as she winked at him, the boy sighing with relief.

"Don't worry about a thing," Parm replied, "If anyone should date our beloved daughter, we're glad it's you," Memu nodding before adding, "Yes, he truly is a fine young man, isn't he?" Flint grinning with pride and replying, "Naturally," flexing his stubby little arm and forming a small muscle.

With that, the two proceeded to tell Flint all there was to know about Fumu and what she looked for in men to the best of their knowledge. They even offered him a fancy suit fit for a Kirby for the occassion.

As if that wasn't enough, even Joe and the other Fighter Kirbies held off the day's training to help Flint prepare himself for the date. After all, this was the princess they were talking about and Flint wanted to make a good impression.

All the while, Fumu was both excited and scared at the same time. Just like Flint, this was a major first for her, so she didn't even know what to do. Oh, sure, she had read a lot of romantic novels in her lifetime, but this was the real world. What if the logic in those stories didn't apply to real life?

Though probably the biggest challenge for her was picking out her outfit for the occassion. Should she wear her fancy, slightly-revealing black gown or perhaps her pink dress? Maybe she should wear her violet gown with only one shoulder strap. Should she wear makeup? It seemed Flint liked her well enough without it, but would that be okay on a date?

Either way, this was a very big deal and each one was taking every step possible to make this the most memorable moment of their lives. However, during this time, no one was aware of the possessed mirror making its way to the kingdom. To get there, it did have to pass through Oro Town. Poppy Bro Junior was simply taking a nap on the balcony when he noticed the mirror float by, staring strangely at it as he noticed where it was headed, figuring Iron Mom might want to hear about this.

As such, he quickly ran inside as Senior noticed him running by, asking, "Hey, little bro, what's up?" Junior stopping while jogging on the spot, replying, "I just noticed a flying object headed towards New Pupupuland," Senior nodding and joining him.

All the while, Metaknight had finally regained all strength in his feet as he was up and moving about the castle, everyone thrilled to see this. Sure, there hadn't been an attack on the kingdom in days, but Metaknight's presence still added a nice sense of security all around.

As he walked down the hall, Spencer soon joined him and said, "Nice to see you fully recovered," Metaknight nodding as the Sword Kirby stared, saying, "It's weird seeing you without the mask on," the knight sighing, "Yeah, but I don't need it anymore."

After a while, Spencer turned to the knight and asked, "Say, Metaknight, I probably shouldn't ask this, but have you ever been in love before?"

The knight stopped in his tracks and replied, "What an odd question. Why do you ask?" Spencer replying, "I dunno, after that whole ordeal with Melanie, I'm just kind of curious. You said you have girls asking you out a lot."

Metaknight let out a sigh and replied, "Well, there was one," Spencer staring with full attention, the knight adding, "I was 14 years old when I met a nice young Cappy named Flower. Despite her name and her friendly nature, she was also very tough and knew how to pick her own battles. I wanted so much to be like that. You could say she inspired me to become the man I am now."

Spencer stared in shock at the sound of this, the knight chuckling and adding, "We were actually fairly good friends for about a year. I figured if our relationship started out as friendship, it could build into something more, and it really seemed like she felt the same way about me as I did towards her."

"What happened?" Spencer asked as Metaknight sighed, "Demon beasts attacked the town the day I was going to ask her out," Spencer asking, "Did they eat her?"

Metaknight nodded and replied, "What I found really unfair about it all is that she was the only victim that day. It was a small invasion, so our Star Soldiers at the time easily disposed of them, just not quickly enough."

"Was that when you decided to become a soldier yourself?" Spencer asked as Metaknight nodded, replying, "I swore I'd do my best to make sure that would never happen again."

Spencer looked down as Metaknight smiled and patted him on the shoulder saying, "Don't worry about it. I knew I'd have to tell someone about it some day," the Sword Kirby nodding in understanding.

After a while, Metaknight let out a sigh and asked, "Spencer, are you sure you want to keep this up?" the boy asking, "What do you mean?" the knight asking, "I mean... being my apprentice... fighting demon beasts... is this truly what you want?"

Spencer stared at the knight for some time. What a strange question. Up until this point, he figured it was his destiny to do this. After all, Metaknight had taken him in as a disciple without question and taught him to be a master swordsman.

Spencer wasn't even sure how to respond to such a question as the knight sighed, "It's just... well... now that Kirisakin and Dark Matter are dead, there really aren't any major threats left in the world."

While the knight said this very statement, the mirror started to getting closer to the kingdom while Iron Mom, the Poppy Bros, Jukiddo and a group of ninjas trying their best to catch up with it. However, because the mirror had passed over them two minutes before Iron Mom even heard about it, they were far from being able to catch up to it.

"What do you mean?" Spencer asked, Metaknight replying, "Well, it seems the need for us soldiers isn't as high as it was last week. We haven't even seen a demon beast since," Spencer nodding and replying, "I think I understand."

Meanwhile, the mirror continued to hone in on the kingdom, getting closer. Now it would only be an hour before it arrived. But what was its purpose? Why was this mirror headed towards this specific location?

Spencer thought hard about what the knight said and replied with a smile, "Well, I would like to enjoy life. After all, I'm sure that's what my parents would want," Metaknight smiling and rubbing the boy's head replying, "Well, feel free to do so," Spencer grinning and replying, "I'll still continue my training just a little bit, you know, in case a demon beast does attack and I'm needed," Metaknight saying, "A compromise, very wise indeed."

After a little less than an hour, it was time for Flint and Fumu to go on their date. Since this was a very special occassion that Fumu wanted to enjoy to its fullest, she specifically requested that there would be no chaperone to check up on the two and see where they were going and what they were doing.

Flint was outside of the castle waiting for her, gulping nervously and pulling on his collar, Spencer and Melanie standing with him to see him off as Melanie grinned, saying, "Don't worry, just be yourself. She likes that about you," Flint nodding, not saying a word as Spencer added, "I'm not used to seeing you this nervous," Flint glaring at him and remarking, "You'd understand the feeling if you felt this kind of attachment to someone."

At that moment, Fumu came outside with her parents looking out the window from above to see her off, not wanting to be right there and bud into her personal space. Fumu had decided to wear the black dress, Flint's eyes going wide, his jaw dropped as he said, "You look amazing..." Fumu's cheeks turning beet red as she squealed, "Thanks... you look great too."

With that, Flint slowly reached out his hand, Fumu noticing him fidgeting before taking his hand herself with a warm smile. She knew exactly what he was feeling, and hey, she was feeling the same thing, the feeling of butterflies in her stomach, the fear of doing something wrong, but she felt that she had to approach it with confidence.

Metaknight stepped out just in time to see the two off along with Joe and Sirica, who like the king and queen were watching from above, Joe looking out the window to his dojo and Sirica looking out the window to her bedroom. Unfortunately, while Fumu and Flint were just about to walk off, this was the exact moment the mirror had arrived at the castle, and to make matters worse, it specifically floated toward where all of the Kirbies were.

The mirror soon stopped right in front of them, Flint blinking and asking, "What is this?" Fumu holding Flint close and replying, "I don't know..." everyone else soon panicking when a vortex formed in the glass, a gust of wind heading straight into it.

The wind picked up Flint as he flew toward the mirror with a look of terror on his face, Fumu holding onto him shouting, "I WON'T LET YOU GO!" Flint soon coming loose and flying into the mirror, the vortex soon vanishing as five more mirrors shot from slots that formed in the original mirror, each one a different colour. Seeing this, Fumu growled and spat, "I DON'T THINK SO!" leaping into a white one as the vortex from that vanished, Melanie pulled into a green one. Knuckle Joe leaped out from his window, soon finding himself sucked into a brown mirror. Sirica fumed, leaping out as well only to end up in a blue mirror. The last was a silver mirror, this one about to inhale Spencer when Metaknight shouting, "OH NO YOU DON'T!" leaping right into the mirror as the vortex closed, Spencer staring in absolute terror shouting, "NO!"

He would have gladly taken Metaknight's place. At least that way, there'd still be one veteran left to protect the kingdom. However, it seemed the knight's sacrifice was in vain as all the mirrors combined together to form one big black one, a vortex appearing in this one as the same hand that had captured the elemental Kirbies reached out toward Spencer. The Sword Kirby whipped out his weapon and sliced the hand, but rather than blood coming out, the cut was simply in the form of a cloud that quickly vanished, the skin looking as if it hadn't even been hit.

That was that. Spencer couldn't do a thing now as the hand grabbed him, reeling him in. As the vortex closed, Memu and Parm couldn't help but stare in total shock. Their daughter had just vanished right before them. To make matters worse, the mirror was just about to take off from the area.

However, it was at this exact moment that Iron Mom and her soldiers entered the area, the ninjas pulling out ropes and tossing them forward, tying them to the mirror and holding it down, pulling out stakes and jabbing them through the ends of the ropes in order to keep them bound to the ground. At least this way, the kingdom could figure out what this mirror was and where it had come from.

As it just so happened, each mirror the others had been sucked into was a portal to another world. Each warrior along with the princess herself had ended up in a different location, but what were these worlds and what did they have to do with this mirror?

Flint had woken up in a castle of some sort, his eyes going wide as he blinked, rubbing them. At that moment, a robot walked by and noticed Flint sitting there asking, "What are you doing lying down on the job!? Get to work!" Flint blinking before remembering his suit. The robot must have thought he was a butler. Well, at the very least this could help him find his way around without dealing with trouble, but where was he?

Fumu awoke in a frozen tundra, the girl hugging herself and shivering, her teeth chattering all the while. Of all the places she could wind up in while wearing a dress, why did it have to be a world made of Winter?

Melanie was in a wide open field with bright green grass, bright sun shining down on the area and flowers everywhere. Melanie's eyes went wide, the girl smiling as she looked up at the big ball in the sky. Was this what Fumu and her subjects referred to as the sun? Living on Dark Star her whole life, she had never seen such a beautiful thing.

However, she quickly shook her head as she got up, remembering how she ended up here. She had to find her friends at all cost and watch her back. For all she knew, there could have been dangerous creatures living here.

Joe found himself in a mansion with purple walls made from bricks. He simply looked around, feeling rather agitated. He had no idea where he was or where he could go and to make matters worse, he could have been far away from the others for all he knew. Heck, he was probably in a different world from the ones they went to. After all, he had been sucked into a different mirror. Who was to say they all led to the same dimension?

Sirica awoke elsewhere, rubbing her head and opening her eyes before looking around to see water right before her. She then looked down to see sand below her, turning to her right and noticing a palm tree. She then looked around the entire area with confusion. She couldn't believe it. Right now, the female warrior was stranded on an island in the middle of an ocean.

Metaknight had ended up in probably the strangest of all these places. While the worlds the others ended up in were at least normal areas one could find in various locations on Dark Star, this world looked like it was located in outer space, namely the stratosphere.

The knight was currently standing on a fairly wide bridge with green and yellow blocks as its material, all of then leading in various different directions. Which one was the knight supposed to take in order to leave this place? Whichever way it was, he was sure it wouldn't be as easy as simply finding the exit.

However, neither of the other six had it all that bad all things considered. If anything, the one who currently had it the worst was Spencer. Not only was he out cold, he was also floating in a dark world with nothing but stars covering the sky. Before him was a tall demonic-looking man with a pasty white face resembling that of a human, a creature that didn't exist on any planet aside from Earth. He also wore a big blue robe with stars on it and sported a pair of sky-blue shades covering his eyes.

With a sinister look on his face, this was the very who was believed to have inadvertently killed himself back on the destroyed planet Popstar. For whatever reason, he was alive and living in this other world. This was the creator of all demon beasts, the biggest threat to the galaxy to ever exist, the one known simply as Nightmare.

But again, what were these worlds the others had ended up in? Had Nightmare been the cause of all of this? And why had the elemental Kirbies helped him achieve this goal? Did they even know what they were doing? Better yet, what did Nightmare want with Spencer? Whatever the reasons, they couldn't have possibly been good, not if the master of all evil was behind it.


	22. Chapter 22

Flint quickly rose to his feet, straightening his bow tie and sporting a more sophisticated look. If he truly wanted these servants to believe he was a butler, he may as well look the part. With that, he strutted casually down the hallway with a proud smile on his face, seeing himself as a genius for coming up with this.

However, while he walked down the hall looking around, he was rather surprised he'd managed to trick all of the other servants here. The others were all robots and, well, Flint wasn't. He couldn't even so much as pass off as one. However, they all wore a suit similar to the one he was wearing. Perhaps the uniform was all the robots cared about.

While he carried on, one robot was exiting a particular room before noticing the Kirby, its eyes going wide as it wheeled over to him, tapping him on the shoulder. Flint's eyes went wide as he turned, letting down nervous sweat as the robot quickly handed him a mop and a bucket, the fighter standing there silently.

"I don't know if you were programmed for this or not, but there's a huge leak in the oil room and someone needs to clean it up ASAP!" the robot exclaimed, looking rather nervous while saying this as Flint asked, "Were you the one who caused it?" steam shooting from the robot's neck as it wheeled off in panic, the Kirby shrugging and thinking, 'Well, I do need to check out every room there is for a way out.'

With that, he walked casually into the oil room to see that there was indeed a huge oil spill, the boy groaning and thinking, 'How do I get myself into these things?'

With that, he simply spun the mop around like a Bo staff and grinned, figuring he may as well try to make the job somewhat enjoyable before performing a sliding kick across the oil, holding the mop next to him so it ended up clearing that particular section of the floor. Flint kept it up for a while until the room was completely spotless, the boy laughing before noticing the big glass containers of oil.

At that moment, it hit him: this entire castle must have been owned by robots. With that in mind, he groaned, figuring there'd be no food in this place, and since he was expecting dinner to be a part of his date with Fumu, he hadn't eaten since breakfast. As such, his stomach was now growling, the boy groaning.

However, his look of pain soon turned to one of fear when he realized exactly what this meant. What if the robots heard his stomach growl? They'd know for sure he wasn't one of them.

However, as luck would have it, the robots were not the only beings in this kingdom. This was made clear as a lone robot carrying a tray knocked on the door to the throne, stating, "Your carrot cake, Madam," a voice saying, "Come on in."

As the robot opened the door entering, he faced a beautiful rabbit most likely in her young teens. This rabbit wore a tiara atop her head and had long shimmering blond hair. Right now, she was lying down in bed with a robot next to her reading her a story despite the fact that it wasn't even her bed time, as was shown by the fact she was still wearing a dress.

The robot next to her was a hovering bulky torso with a silver front section, a pair of solid gold horns atop his head and blue all around his back and the sides of his front. Two small arms were located on each side, however, these 'arms' were really floatation devices that allows his hands to float a small distance away from his torso, all four just floating there, two of them holding the book while one was used to turn the page and another was used to hold the rabbit girl's drink.

"Here is your dessert for the night," the servant robot stated, holding out the tray and taking the lid off, revealing a cake underneath with a big carrot on top, the rabbit's eyes sparkled as she licked her lips saying, "Thank you so much, Burt!" taking a bit of the cake, her eyes going wide as she spat out a bit of it, turning to the robot reading to her and murmured, "Mega Titan?"

The robot, Mega Titan, turned to her and asked, "What is it, Princess Bonny?" the rabbit, Bonny, whimpering, "It's not sweet enough."

Hearing this, Mega Titan fumed, setting down the girl's drink on a table next to the bed and putting the book down before unleashing rockets on the back of each fist, sending all four into Burt and sending him flying into the wall, the big robot barking, "HOW DARE YOU SERVE BONNY A CAKE WITH TOO LITTLE SUGAR!? I SHOULD EXECUTE YOU FOR THAT!" the rabbit taking hold of one of the robot's hands and rubbing her head against it sniffing, "Don't say that... it's an honest mistake... just show him how to do it right."

Titan calmed down a bit before saying, "Yes, Princess," the robot flying over to a bookshelf and pulling out a copy of the same cook book the butler robot had used for the cake and opened it to the carrot cake page, pointing at the ingredients and asking, "Did you add half a cup of sugar?" the servant looking it over and giving an army salute saying, "My mistake, sir, I only put in 43.57 percent," Titan about to strike him with the back of one of his hands when Bonny winced, Titan lowering her hand and sighing, "Just get it right, okay? And make sure it never happens again," Burt nodding before exiting the room.

With that, Titan flew over as he asked, "Did I scare you, your highness?" the bunny shaking her head and replying, "No, you were just looking out for me and I love you for that. My daddy was just like you," the rabbit looking at a photo next to her bed of her parents, the girl sniffing as Titan picked up the book and her drink, implying a smile.

When Bonny saw this, a bright smile covered her face as well, the princess finally cheering up as Titan read, "And so Petey snuck into Mr. Gregory's property with the soul intent of stealing his carrots..."

However, before he could continue, the door opened up as a dark red Kirby sporting a blue headband entered the area, Bonny looking up and asking, "What is it, Flint?" the Kirby grumbling, "So, let me get this straight... the only food you have in this godforsaken castle is carrots!?" Bonny blinking before replying, "Yes..." Titan scowling and remarking, "Watch your mouth, young man!"

"Why should I!? I'm starving!" this other Flint retorted, Titan flying over to him and remarking, "You applied to work here as the only non-robot servant in this whole kingdom! The princess let you work here because she figured she'd finally found someone to connect with after all these years, but all you ever do is complain!"

"Well, it wasn't my choice to work here!" Flint spat with fury in his expression, the Kirby pressing his face right up against the metal torso, "The leader of our whole universe sent me here!" Bonny letting down tears, biting her lip as both turned to her, Titan asking, "Would you like me to kick this ungrateful wretch out?" Bonny crying, "PLEASE STOP FIGHTING!"

The two stopped and stared at her, the girl letting loose a huge amount of water from her eyes. Seeing this, Mega Titan panicked and flew over to her, saying, "I'm sorry, I overreacted again," Flint folding his arms, smirking and saying, "God, you are pathetic."

The robot scowled only for Bonny to shake her head at him, turning to Flint and remarking, "Apologize," the Kirby laughing before replying, "Look, princess, no offence to you or anything, but you need a new bodyguard. This guy may look tough, but he's just an easily-manipulated wimp."

Titan's body turned bright red after he heard that crack, steam coming from him as he shook with fury, resisting the urge to kill this this other Flint. However, he knew how much it would upset Bonny, so he decided against rushing in for an attack. All the while, Bonny was glaring at Flint, holding her hand out and waving it forward, signalling Flint to leave.

The Kirby laughed once again and said, "Alright, I'll take my leave and settle for carrots as my dinner break, but seriously, Titan, old buddy, old pal, you'll never get anywhere playing lap dog for a teen who acts like a toddler."

While Mega Titan was on the verge of literally blowing his top, Flint proceeded to add, "One more thing. You'd better look out. I got word from my other boss that a clone of me is running around with the intention of assassinating the princess. You'd better toughen up to make sure that doesn't happen."

Titan's eyes went wide at the sound of this as Bonny didn't even seem to care, the girl hugging her legs when Flint left the room, Bonny crying loud and hard. Mega Titan looked at her and patted her head saying, "There, there, I'll make sure this evil clone doesn't kill you," Bonny sniffing, "No, I got good security. I'm not worried about that..."

Mega Titan then realized what she was really crying about, the robot opening up all four arms and giving the rabbit a hug. How dare one of their servants say such a thing? If anything, hiring a non-robot seemed to be the biggest mistake ever made, but Titan dare not say this. Bonny was upset enough as it was.

Meanwhile, the orange Flint continued through the castle before stumbling upon a kitchen, his eyes going wide. He couldn't believe it: there was actually a kitchen here. But just as he was about to enter, he noticed a servant robot, namely Bert entering, the robot about to make another carrot cake.

However, Flint still saw an opportunity to fill his gut, but he'd have to hurry if he didn't want to get caught. As such, he walked over to Bert and gave an army salute asking, "Excuse me, but what are you making?" Bert replying, "I am making a carrot cake for Princess Bonny. I already made one for her but I did not put in enough sugar."

Flint blinked and thought, 'Interesting... so this place has a non-robot leader,' before smiling and replying, "Well, you worked hard to make that first one, I'm sure. Why not let yourself recharge while I make the cake. I was programmed to be the, um, perfect baking expert robot, yeah."

Despite the poor wording and his extreme enthusiasm for a 'servant robot', Bert actually seemed to buy this as he bowed his head, exiting the area while Flint grinned and thought, 'Yes!' pulling open the cupboard and noticing that carrots were the only naturally edible thing here.

With that, Flint frowned and opened the fridge, but the only thing other than more carrots was milk. With that, he sighed, figuring beggars couldn't be chooser and picking up a carrot, tossing it upward with his mouth wide open and gulping down it down.

As he did so, a voice came from behind him saying, "Hey, I thought robots didn't eat," Flint turning to notice another Fighter Kirby standing right behind him, the boy standing there and blinking before pointing and saying, "Hey, there are other non-robots working here. Hello, fellow worker."

"You think I'm stupid enough to fall for that?" the Kirby remarked as Flint went silent, the other fighter laughing before saying, "This is perfect. My master sent me here to kill you and now you're finally here."

"What do you mean?" Flint asked, the other fighter replying, "Ah, heck, there's no way you can beat me, so there's no harm in sharing this with you," a vein forming on Flint's head as he remarked, "What was that!?" the other fighter ignoring him and replying, "You were sucked in here through a mirror, right?"

Flint blinked and nodded, saying, "Yeah, that's right," the other fighter replying, "Well then, welcome to the Mirror World, the universe owned and governed by Nightmare!"

"What!?" Flint remarked, his eyes wide open, his jaw dropped and his body shaking all over, the other fighter adding, "See, when Nightmare turned 15, he realized he was destined to rule the universe, but at the same time, he wasn't sure how to go about it, especially with people training to become Star Soldiers. With this in mind, someone could have easily found him out and tried to stop him. During his time searching for a spot where he could perform his experiments in total secrecy, he came across the portal leading to the Mirror World."

Flint blinked as the other Kirby added, "He noticed the world was wanting someone to rule over it, so he immediately took the job and everyone accepted this, considering him their new God. With him living in this world, he could create his own demon beasts without anyone seeing him do it and stopping him because, hey, it wasn't like the people in this world knew what he was up to. Once he'd created his army, he came back to your world and let loose his demon beast armies, still looking for planets to conquer."

"So when he was killed all those years back..." Flint said, the other Kirby nodding and stating, "That's right, he simply opened up a portal and headed back to here, making you all think he was dead. Unfortunately, the mirror that was used to link him between this world and yours was shattered, leaving him with no way to return. He felt fortunate a lot of his demon beasts still remained back on his home planet, Dark Star, but that wasn't good enough for him. As such, through means I'm not fully clear on, he managed to find a way to bring the mirror back to life, however, he's still unable to return through it for some reason, so he simply used the mirror to bring in the biggest threats to his plans. He's certain one day he'll escape, but before that happens, he wants us to get rid of the ones responsible for the death of Kirisakin and his army."

Flint blinked, confused by a lot of this but knowing this wasn't good. However, after this, he asked, "Wait, why are you serving such a twisted man!" this other fighter replying, "It's what I was made for. See, I was created to be your exact opposite."

"Wait, so you're like an alternate version of me!?" Flint asked, the other Kirby nodding and replying, "Yep, I even have the same name as you."

"Man, your colouring is so much better than mine," Flint replied with a hint of jealous before shaking her head and barking, "BUT THAT DOESN'T MATTER!" rushing toward this other Flint who simply spun around shouting, "ROUNDHOUSE!" sending an energy blast from his foot into the real Flint, sending him back-first into the fridge.

"How did you do that!?" Flint spat, "I've spent years trying to learn that!" alternate Flint laughing before stating, "Again, I'm your exact opposite. I know every single move that you were unable to master, and if I'm not mistaken, that's every advanced fighting technique ever created!"

Flint's eyes went wide as the alternate Kirby proceeded to send energy from his fists shouting, "VULCAN JAB!" the real Flint quickly leaping over it and landing hard atop alternate Flint's head saying, "I may not know advanced moves, but I can still fight," the alternate Flint replying, "That was pathetic," sending forward a Smash Punch, hitting real Flint hard in the face and sending him tumbling out of the kitchen and into the hallway.

As he stopped there, some of the robot workers looked at him as the other Flint entered, grinning wickedly only for the servant robots to charge at him. Alternate Flint blinked in confusion, unable to respond when one of the servants rammed hard into the Kirby, sending him back-first into the wall while the others wailed on him.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" other Flint spat, struggling to get free, kicking one away from him only for another to come in, holding his feet in place as he spat, "THAT'S THE ASSASSIN WHO'S COME TO KILL THE PRINCESS!"

Real Flint blinked and thought, 'Assassin?' one of the servant robots remarking, "How dare you accuse one of our fellow butlers of such a thing?" orange Flint remembering he was still wearing his suit, the Kirby grinning and giving an army salute saying, "Thank you, fellow comrades," only for his suit to start falling off.

The outfit seemed to have sustained a bit of damage from the blows alternate Flint had inflicted earlier and it the clothing was now taking its toll, falling off completely as orange Flint's eyes went wide, the Kirby laughing nervously as the alternate Flint scowled at the robots. With that, the butlers quickly let him go, trying to clean him while groveling for forgiveness, the Kirby fuming and kicking them away in frustration.

"Now that you know who the evil clone is, go and get him," alternate Flint said as the robots all gave an army salute, rushing toward real Flint who panicked and spat, "BUT WAIT A MINUTE, I'M NOT AN ASSASSIN!" one of the butlers retorting, "THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT AN ASSASSIN WOULD SAY!"

With that, Flint ran for his life while the robots pursued him, the orange Kirby soon getting an idea as he noticed the oil room just up ahead. With that, he quickly ran into it, the other robots soon coming in before screeching to a halt, noticing Flint standing right behind a big glass container of oil.

"Well?" the orange Kirby asked with a childish look in his eyes, "Are you gonna get me or not?"

The robots started to shake in frustration. How dare he use their precious oil supply as a shield? However, black and red Flint soon entered and noticed the robots standing around, pointing at orange Flint and barking, "YOU GOT HIM CORNERED!"

"B-but the oil, sir," replied one of the robots as alternate Flint retorted, "SUCKS TO YOUR OIL!" letting loose an onslaught of Vulcan Jabs, shattering all of the glass containers as the robots saw their precious oil spilled on the ground, all of them glaring at evil Flint who simply face-palmed and sighed, "You guys were useless anyway," proceeding to knock each one out within seconds.

Just as he finished off the last one, Flint took full advantage of this, hurling various shards of glass into the clone's back. However, rather than bleeding, alternate Flint instead secreted a black fog of some kind, the glass seeping into his skin as the cuts vanished, alternate Flint glaring at him.

"That was a dirty tactic," the clone stated before grinning and adding, "Maybe we're not so different from each other."

"Don't even compare me to scum like you!" real Flint retorted, alternate Flint sighing, "So be it," rushing at real Flint before preparing an Uppercut.

Flint barely dodged when his clone proceeded to fall toward him with his foot out, using Sky Kick. However, Flint knew how to get around a move like this as he simply jumped over the clone at the last second, grabbing onto his head and flipping over, hurling alternate Flint hard into the wall.

"You are right about one thing," real Flint said, cupping his stubby hands together, energy forming as he grinned while adding, "I don't know how to use advanced Vulcan Jabs or Sky Kick or Uppercuts or Smash Punches, and I especially can't use an advanced Roundhouse. However, there is one move I doubt you can perform."

Alternate Flint struggled to get up while grunting, "What are you...?" before noticing the energy building up, his eyes going wide real Flint stated, "That's right, there is one advanced technique I can use, and it's the most powerful one a Fighter Kirby can have!"

With that, he threw his arms forward shouting, "HADOUKEN!" letting loose the energy in the form of a big flaming ball, sending it flying hard into his clone's face, an explosion forming around him as he grunted, "I didn't even know such an attack existed..." real Flint replying, "Wow, you really are my exact opposite," another explosion coming up as evil Flint cried out in agonizing pain.

Real Flint took a deep breath, saying, "I still lost quite a bit of energy from that. Guess I still haven't fully perfected it yet," the smoke soon clearing as Flint's eyes went wide. It looked as if his clone had vaporized shortly after that second explosion.

Well, either way, Flint had finally taken care of what he assumed was his biggest threat here, one of the servant robot lifting his head up weakly uttering, "You may have stopped us and Flint, but you'll never defeat the princess' bodyguard..."

Flint let out a sigh and remarked, "Look, I don't care about your precious princess. That Flint was an evil clone of me. He tricked you in order to stop me from returning home."

The robot refused to believe this until the real Flint bent down and helped the butler up, dusting him off saying, "You look like a repair bot," the robot nodding and replying, "Yes, I am," Flint placing a hand on his shoulder with a smile and saying, "Well, it's a good thing you're functioning. Those other robots need some work."

With that, Flint started to head off to find the exit when the repair bot stated, "The princess should be in the room five doors down. She's very understanding, so I'm certain if you explain your case she should be able to help you."

Flint turned and grinned, holding up his hand as if to imply raising his thumb up then headed off toward the princess' chambers. Sure, he was in pain right now, but he had a chance and he wasn't going to let it go.

He soon slowed down when he approached the door to the princess' room, breathing heavily and sitting down saying, "Okay, maybe I do need a quick breather, but after five minutes I'll be busting out of this place."

All the while, the princess was up on her floor playing Tea Party with Mega Titan, the titan holding up his cup of tea saying, "Thank you so much for the tea, Madam," Bonny smiling and replying, "Don't mention it, humble guest, but do drink the tea with more elegance and grace."

Titan nodded before holding the cup more gently, pretending to take a sip from it as he said, "My, this tea is simply smashing."

At that moment, Bonny sighed as Titan asked, "Is something wrong? I should have said lovely, right?" the princess shaking her head saying, "No, it just feels incomplete without my dollies," Titan getting up and giving an army salute saying, "I will not return until I find them, your majesty," the robot pressing a piece of the wall and opening up a secret entrance that only he, being the bodyguard, was to know about, Titan soon exiting the room as Bonny smiled squealing, "Mega Titan's so nice," looking at the picture of her parents sighing, "But he'll never replace you two."

At that moment, Flint entered the room as Bonny looked up with a smile squeaking, "Bert, you're finally back!" only to notice Flint standing before her, staring before saying, "Well, that would explain all the carrots."

"Who are you?" Bonny asked, getting up and trembling as Flint panicked, waving his hands in front of his face replying, "I'm not here to bring any harm to you, okay? I simply need your help," Bonny then noticing this being before her was a Kirby of a different colour than the other she knew, the girl taking a deep breath and screaming, "TITAN, HELP ME!"

Mega Titan heard this from the storage room located right next to Bonny's, his eyes going wide before a serious look came over him, the robot shouting, "I'M ON MY WAY, YOUR HIGHNESS!" the robot pressing the button and entering the room, Flint freaking out as Mega Titan glared, shouting, "YOU'RE NOT FLINT! YOU MUST BE THE EVIL CLONE WE WERE WARNED ABOUT!?"

"NO, I'M THE REAL FLINT, HE WAS THE CLONE!" Flint retorted as all went silent, Titan asking, "Was?" tears filling Bonny's eyes as she squeaked, "Did you... kill him...?"

Flint then looked at her with a look of worry protesting, "You don't understand..." Bonny crying, "HE MAY NOT HAVE BEEN A VERY NICE GUY, BUT I DIDN'T WANT HIM DEAD!" Mega Titan fuming, his torso turning bright red as he spat, "YOU MADE THE PRINCESS CRY! THAT IS UNFORGIVEABLE!"

"NO, WAIT, JUST LISTEN!" Flint barked as Titan refused to hear anymore, sending one of his fists flying straight into his face, the boy rolling along the floor as Titan proceeded to shoot all four fists at him.

Flint recovered, noticing the fists coming toward him as he freaked out, quickly dodging to the side only for the fists to turn around, flying at him again. Flint dodged once again, finding his chance as he leapt at Titan with his feet pointing forward, delivering a two-legged kick to the robot's chest.

However, this didn't seem to have any effect at all, his eyes going wide as all four fists rammed hard into the fighter's back. However, it wasn't long until the Fighter Kirby had an idea, the boy slowly pushing himself up with a grin on his face.


	23. Chapter 23

Mega Titan glared at Flint and asked, "What's with that smug look!? You act as if you've already won!"

Flint grinned and replied, "That's cause I know how to beat you," Titan beating his fists against his chest like a gorilla before retorting, "My body is made from the strongest metal in existence, a one of a king metal no less! Nothing in this world can penetrate it! I am indestructible!"

Seeing Flint looking as if he didn't believe him, Titan fumed and spat, "Alright, fine!" spreading out his hands and leaving his body exposed, "Go ahead! Use your strongest attack on me!"

Flint wasn't so sure using his Hadouken would work, but how could he resist such an opportunity? Should he go with his original strategy or take this chance? Surely a fully powered Hadouken would be enough to take out even the world's strongest armour. After all, he had managed to demolish an entire Masher model with it before, so why not?

Besides, Flint's other strategy had risks to it, so he figured he had no choice in the matter, the Kirby cupping his hands together shouting, "I hope you're ready for this!" energy building up as Mega Titan stared at this. Just what kind of power was he about to unleash?

Seeing this, Bonny gasped, hoping her best friend wouldn't take in extreme damage from this as Flint barked, "HADOUKEN!" releasing a large ball of energy, hitting the robot hard as a huge explosion appeared on his chest. However, when the smoke cleared, Flint's jaw dropped, his eyes twitching as Titan had barely taken in any damage at all. Sure, there was a small burn mark there but it certainly hadn't done the job, and to make matters worse, Flint had used up a lot of energy using it.

But while Flint saw this as a wasted effort, Mega Titan was actually alarmed as steam shot from his arm parts, the robot shouting, "YOU ACTUALLY MANAGED TO HURT ME!?"

With that in mind, the robot let loose his fists, but rather than specifically aiming them toward Flint, he simply sent each one in a random direction, all of his fists flying around. However, Flint couldn't even take advantage of this. He knew another Hadouken wouldn't be nearly enough to stop the bodyguard and it would only end up costing him more energy.

He also didn't have much time to think about this as one fist was headed straight down towards him, the Kirby leaping to the side just in time to avoid extreme pain, another hitting him hard in the face. This was his chance. He had to take this at all cost.

With that, he remembered that the fists seemed to have a heat seeker function. As such, the fighter rubbed his feet against the floor, also rubbing his hands together to raise his body heat. With that, the fists all came at him as he grinned and rolled under them just in time to avoid taking in extreme pain.

With that, Flint ran toward Mega Titan, the robot suddenly calming down as he blinked, asking, "Wait, what am I doing?" noticing Flint running straight at him with the robot's fists following close behind, Titan confused by this until Flint leapt right over his head, the fists ramming hard into his chest.

This dealt more than enough damage to cause Titan's body to start sputtering, Titan quickly ejecting his head seconds before his body exploded, leaving tiny pieces all around, Bonny now terrified. Was Mega Titan doing to die in this battle? After all, his head was nowhere near as powerful as his body.

"My god, that actually worked..." Flint said through deep breaths as Mega Titan, now in the form of a head with two small ball-shaped hands next to him, stated, "So your plan from the start was to hit me with my own weapon. Not bad, but let me tell you something, if you hadn't damaged my chest earlier, that wouldn't have worked."

Flint's jaw dropped upon hearing that, the Kirby so relieved to have heard that. So if he hadn't used his Hadouken, even the most logical of plans wouldn't have helped him. But to make matters better, Flint could tell without much thought that he'd just made Mega Titan extremely vulnerable.

Nevertheless, Titan was not going to give up as he split himself in half, revealing a small cannon inside of him before firing a missile at Flint. Flint panicked before leaping over it just in time, sending a high kick hard into Titan's face, sending the robot head spinning backwards, his eyes now swirling.

With that, Flint realized this battle was his now as he cupped his hands together saying, "I think a small one should be more than enough to finish you off in this state!" but just as he was about to open fire, Bonny got up and used her natural jumping abilities to leap over Titan and land right in front of him, now standing between him and Flint with her arms out.

Flint stared in shock, Titan regaining focus before shouting, "What are you doing, your highness!?" Bonny biting her lip with a look of anger, trying her best to hide her tears as she shouted, "If you want to kill me, just do it! But please, I beg of you, spare Mega Titan!"

Titan couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was the princess really willing to give up her life for a flying hunk of metal?

Flint stopped his attack and lowered his arms sighing, "I told you already, I'm not here to kill you. I just need your help, okay?"

Bonny wouldn't have believe these words if Flint's actions hadn't just spoken for him. He had the perfect opportunity to assassinate her right here and now and yet he'd chosen against it despite the fact that Titan wouldn't have been able to beat him right now.

"You're really a good guy..." Bonny said with a smile before sighing with relief, Mega Titan blinking before asking, "So... you were telling the truth?" Flint nodding and taking a deep breath, plopping himself down and breathing heavily.

With that, Bert soon brought in the carrot cake as Bonny shared it with Flint, whom she now treated as her new guest. The repair bot had started fixing up Mega Titan's body while Flint told the princess and her bodyguard exactly what was going on.

"So... you were taken away from your home, your friends and your family?" Bonny asked, Flint nodding and sighing, "Well, my family's dead, but that's the gist of it," Titan fuming and growling, "I can't believe that other Flint was an imposter! I wish I had been the one to kill him! Lord knows I wanted so desperately to do so!" Bonny giggling and replying, "Please, calm down," Titan sighing, "Yes, I know, I'm acting out of line again."

"However, what confuses me is that you say the fake Flint was created by someone named Nightmare," Bonny replied, "Who is Nightmare?"

"Well, according to fake me," Flint replied, "he's the governor of your entire universe," the two gasping as Titan asked, "You mean this Nightmare person is Drake?"

"Is that what he calls himself here?" Flint asked as Bonny sniffed, "I can't believe it... if it weren't for everything that was going on, I wouldn't, but there's too much proof..."

Flint looked down and sighed, "Yeah, he used to use this place as a hideout so he could create demon beasts to terrorize our world. Now he has no choice but to stay here after Metaknight smashed the mirror leading him here, so until he's able to return to our world, he forced me and my friends here so he could have us all killed. That way we wouldn't be able to stop him."

The fighter than groaned, "Why did this have to happen before my first date?" Bonny gasping, "You mean... this whole ordeal ruined your chance at finding romance?" Flint nodding and replying, "In a matter of speaking..." Bonny narrowing her eyelids and getting up saying, "Follow me. I'll finish my cake later."

"Wait, where are you going?" Titan asked as Bonny replied, "I think you know where," the robot head's eyes going wide as he replied, "You don't mean... but..." Bonny sighing, "Titan, you know as well as I do now that Mr. Flint can be trusted. Right now, we owe it to him to help him out with whatever he needs to do, especially after the way everyone here treated him."

Flint's eyes sparkled as he knelt down, groveling to the princess and saying, "Thank you so much, Princess Bonny," Titan blinking and saying, "You are a lot more polite than I first thought," Flint replying, "Hey, you gotta be polite when your girlfriend's a princess," Titan floating in absolute silence, not believing what he'd just heard. Flint's first date in his entire life was with a princess?

Bonny led the Kirby to the castle basement. Here, a floating mirror with a light shining from it was located, the bunny girl smiling and saying, "This mirror leads to the center of the Mirror World. There, many portals exist. Hopefully one of them will be the one you're looking for," Flint bowing his head and saying, "Take care, Bonny. Thanks for everything," Bonny waving and replying, "Maybe I can visit your world some day," Flint chuckling and replying, "Hey, if you can find a way to get there, I can guarantee you'll be more than welcome."

With that, the Kirby headed into the mirror exiting Carrot Castle for good. But before seeing the aftermath, let us go back in time to see what was going on with one of our other heroes during all of this.

Fumu was trudging through the snow, shivering all the while, still hugging herself. As if it wasn't bad enough that the air was so cold, all she had to wear was a revealing dress. Not only was the material weak but it left her arms, head and a bit of her upper body completely exposed. What was the teen to do?

While walking along, the princess was currently walking up a small hill when she reached the top, looking onward before noticing something peculiar right below her. Located there was a frozen pond with a snowman and penguins known as Pengies wearing ice skates, looking like they were heaving fun.

One Pengy soon lost her balance, running into the snowman and knocking him off his skates, the snowman losing his head before picking it up, plopping it back onto his head as the Arctic bird looked down, saying, "Sorry about that, Mr. Mayor, Sir," the snowman chuckling and replying, "Oh, think nothing of it, and please, call me by my real name, Chilly."

Fumu watched with wonder at this before losing her footing, falling head-first into a snow bank, her legs sticking up out of the snow as the Pengies and Chilly gasped, two penguins running over and prying the princess out of the snow. Fumu was now hugging herself even harder, her teeth chattering as the penguins set her down, staring at her and wondering what kind of creature she was, the girl sneezing. The sneeze was more than enough for Chilly to take her hand lead her to the village he and the Pengies lived in. It was very small and all of the buildings were igloos. After all, the entire world was stuck in Winter, so they had to make due with what nature gave them.

"What are you doing wearing a dress in weather like this?" Chilly asked as Fumu sneezed again, sniffing, "I'll explain everything when I can breathe again," snot dripping down her nose as she looked down, the princess blushing like mad. A princess was not allowed to have a runny nose, or at least that's what she'd been taught.

However, now was not the time to think about that as she was led inside of Chilly's igloo, the Pengies staring at this with confusion. After all, it was rare for the mayor to just let people into his home without even knowing them.

With that, Chilly prepared Fumu a cup of hot chocolate saying, "I always save some just in case I have guests. Course, being a snowman, I can't have any myself," the mayor also opening up a wardrobe and pulling out a warm Winter coat that he knew would fit the princess, helping her put it on as Fumu smiled, curling up under the warmth of the clothing.

"Since I've never met you before, I feel I must introduce myself," Chilly replied, bowing his head, "I am Mayor Chilly of Ice Town! Welcome to my humble abode," Fumu's eyes going wide as she asked, "You're the mayor?" Chilly nodding and replying, "Yes, there's quite a bit of a story behind that, but I'd like to know your name first."

Fumu nodded and replied, "I am Princess Fumu of New Pupupuland, formerly known as Pupupuland."

Chilly's eyes went wide as he quickly propped his mid section off of his lower body, then taking his head off and laying each part downward as if to imply groveling, the snowman saying, "If I had known I was in the presence of royalty, I would have given you much better treatment. Would you like an ice cream cake?" Fumu chuckling and replying, "No, thanks, the hot chocolate's good enough."

Chilly quickly put himself back together, positioning himself upright before asking, "Say, where is this New Pupupuland?" Fumu sighing, "Well, that's a bit of a story too. Do you want to go first?"

"Oh my, I mustn't go before royalty, but... since you have given me permission..." Chilly replied, the excitement of telling his origin story to a princess overwhelming him, the snowman shaking his head and getting his senses together.

During their conversation, a group of Pengies were listening in, equally shocked to hear Fumu introduce herself as a princess. Those listening quickly passed it on to those too far from the door to hear, all of them just as surprised. They never would have expected royalty in their land, especially when they rarely ever got regular tourists in such a cold climate.

Chilly took a deep breath and said, "Well, you see, Ice Town wasn't always a peaceful place. Originally, it was just the Pengies living all alone. They wanted to build a town but neither could agree on where to build it. Then they issued an immediate battle royale to decide who the new ruler. Said ruler would wear an enchanted bucket that was said to give great power to whomever had it atop his or her head."

Fumu was really interested, taking small sips of her chocolate as the snowman added, "The bucket was kept atop a big rock so no one could steal it during the battle. However, the fight ended up so rough that many ended up ramming into the rock, causing it to vibrate. Eventually, the rock broke a little bit as the bucket fell onto a snowman one of the Pengies had created earlier. As it just so happened, that snowman was me and the magic from the bucket brought me to life," the snowman pointing to the very bucket placed upside down atop his head like a hat.

"So because you dawned the bucket, you were made mayor..." Fumu replied, Chilly nodding and replying, "Yep, that's the whole story. Now I'm very interested in yours."

Fumu let out a sigh and explained everything involving the mirror and how she'd been separated from Flint right before their date. She suspected her friends were also there as there were multiple mirrors, Chilly absolute mortified to hear this.

"That is so sad..." the snowman said, ice cubes falling from his eyes, "Two lovers torn apart by a mysterious force..." Fumu sighing, "Yeah... but I'm sure I'll reunite with him soon."

Flint nodded and replied, "That's the spirit," raising his spherical hand before placing it against Fumu's shoulder adding, "I'm not sure how to get you back to your world, but I do know of a place where you can go. I'll take you a little bit of the way but the rest should be straight forward."

The princess bowed her head and replied, "Thank you so much, Mister Chilly sir," Chilly chuckling a bit and replying, "Well, would you like to head out now or rest?"

Fumu put on a serious expression, getting up and replying, "I'd rather get going as soon as possible, if you don't mind," Chilly nodding his head and replying, "You are very spirited for a princess. I wouldn't be surprised if you were actually capable of beating a monster or two on your own," Fumu replying, "Well, I have defeated one enemy in my lifetime..." Chilly patting her on the shoulder replying, "Well, that's certainly more than most princesses can pull off."

With that, the two exited noticing the Pengies blowing a fierce cold air from their mouths, using it to form a sleigh made entirely out of ice. Once it was done, one of the penguins tied a pair of ropes to the sleigh, attaching it to the front of round blue creatures with a mouth similar to that of a walrus and feet similar to that of a Kirby.

"Those are Pengies for you, always there when you need them," Chilly said with a laugh as Fumu walked over to the small creatures and petting one atop the head, the creature rubbing up against her while making a purring sound, Chilly smiling bright and saying, "This is called a Roly Poly. They're the nicest critters you will ever find in this Arctic plain."

With that, the Roly Polies held the ropes in their mouths, Fumu gracefully entering the sleigh as Chilly whistled, the mammals nodding before rolling forward at a rather fast speed, pulling the sleigh forward with ease. They travelled roughly three miles from the village before stopping in front of a cavern, Fumu blinking in confusion.

"I'd love to take you further, but this is where you get off," Chilly replied, "I hope you understand, but that cave is very dangerous and..."

"You need to be alive so the Pengies don't revert to their indecisive nature again, right?" Fumu replied, the snowman applauding her and saying, "You're beautiful, graceful, powerful, kind and smart, not bad traits for a princess to have."

"Why, thank you," Fumu replied, giving the mayor a curtsy before heading off into the cavern, the snowman giving an army salute and saying, "Good luck, Princess Fumu."

While moving along through the cave, Fumu didn't find it all that difficult. It just seemed like an ordinary cave. However, her tune soon changed when she entered one particular area with a chasm right in front of her, her only way of getting across being bit pillars of ice sticking up from the ground below. Lord only knew just how deep this chasm was.

However, Fumu took a deep breath, knowing she had to be able to face anything if she was to return home and reunite with Flint. As such, she stepped back a bit before charging forward, leaping toward the closest pillar and barely making it far enough to grab the edge, pulling herself up. Unfortunately, things only got worse as a flock of bats hanging from the roof of the cave woke up, spotting the princess.

All of them swooped down toward Fumu, the princess screaming in terror, leaping from pillar to pillar as the bats pursued her. Unfortunately, while the princess continued forward, she noticed the pillars getting further away. However, she soon saw an opportunity when some of the bats flew right in front of her.

She took a deep breath thinking, 'I get one chance at this,' leaping forward and planting her feet into one bat's skull, leaping off of it and landing on the next one, landing on the pillar before her. More bats flew in front of her as she did the same thing, this row lead right to the other side of the chasm.

However, just as she was about to reach the end, the bats started to catch on as the one nearest to the end flew away, Fumu's eyes wide with panic as she was about to fall, two bats grabbing onto her arms and dragging her up with the intention of having her for dinner. However, the princess saw this as the dumbest move they could have made, wiggling her arms until their grip on her loosened, the girl then flinging herself forward, landing perfectly on solid ground.

The bats fumed before swooping down toward her, the princess fleeing for her life shouting, "OH, COME ON, WHY ME!?" but just as the bats were about to strike her down, someone sped into the area with a sword and whizzed right by the bats, striking them down the middle portion of them with a single strike, all of the other bats flying away in terror.

Fumu stopped running and turned to see that her saviour was a blue Sword Kirby with green streaks in certain spots. The girl blinked before bowing her head saying, "Thank you, kind stranger," the Kirby turning to her with a smirk, replying, "I wouldn't be thanking me if I were you."

Fumu blinked, backing up a bit as the swordsman advanced toward her with his sword out stating, "I only got rid of those bats because my master wanted me to take care of you myself," blinking before saying, "Wait a minute, you're not Spencer!"

Fumu let down a sweat drop, lowering her eyes and asking, "You didn't notice until just now?" the girl then asking, "Wait, how do you know Spencer? Who are you!?"

The Sword Kirby grinned wickedly, tossing his sword as it spun in the air, landing perfectly into his sheath as he replied, "My name's also Spencer," Fumu blinking, even more confused as the Kirby slapped his hand against his face, sighing, "I'm a clone made by Nightmare."

Fumu nodded, sort of understanding as the fake Spencer sighed, "Look, I was sent here to kill whichever one of you stepped through the white mirror. The master had intended on it being Spencer."

"Well, that didn't happen," Fumu replied, "I jumped into it before anything could happen!"

Evil Spencer groaned and let out a disappointed sigh, groaning, "You mean I have to kill a total weakling!? God, what a colossal waste of skill!" Fumu pinching her forehead, grumbling, "You're certainly not like the Spencer I know," the clone replying, "Of course. I'm meant to be his exact opposite. I've heard the real Spencer isn't that great of a swordsman. Naturally, that makes me a great one."

"You haven't seen him recently, have you?" Fumu asked as the clone barked, "SHUT UP! I'M REALLY PISSED OFF RIGHT NOW! I WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO AN EPIC SWORD FIGHT AND I END UP WITH SOME PAMPERED PRINCESS WHO PROBABLY DOESN'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO THROW A PUNCH!"

Fumu fumed, feeling very offended, but as painful as it was to admit, he was partly right. Sure, Fumu was no weakling, but up against a swordsman, let alone one who was powerful enough to take out a row of bats in one strike, she really couldn't win. However, this clone Spencer also seemed rather stupid whereas the real Spencer wasn't.

With that in mind, Fumu pointed behind the clone asking, "Hey, isn't that Spencer right behind you?" the clone turning and saying, "Perfect," Fumu turning and fleeing, exiting the cavern as the clone fumed, turning around and gritting his teeth shouting, "OH, YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS, YOU BITCH!"

Fumu continued running only for the clone to quickly catch up to her, his sword out as he spat, "DID YOU REALLY THINK YOU COULD OUTRUN ME!?" Fumu's eyes going wide as she screamed in terror, the Kirby pointing his sword forward and dashing toward the princess only for her to barely dodge in time to avoid being killed. Unfortunately, she wasn't fast enough to avoid having the material around the shoulder on her coat sliced, a cut appearing on her shoulder, the girl now bleeding a bit as she started to panic even more.

As dumb as this Spencer was, he was truly skilled, and the swordsman wasn't going to let up as he leapt toward the princess, performing vertical flips toward her. The princess freaked out, leaping to the side, her entire coat snagged by the blade as it came off, the girl once again in her dress and feeling cold. But right now, the peril she was in was far too great for her to care about the cold.

"COME BACK HERE, YOUR MAJESTY!" Spencer spat, charging toward the girl as she continued to flee for her life until she ended up in a long narrow bridge made entirely out of ice. The girl stopped midway, knowing that if she ran she could slip and fall off the edge. After all, there were no guard rails, so this was truly a bad spot to be in.

The girl tried to make her way slowly across as Spencer's clone laughed asking, "You think I'm gonna stand here and let you cross? See, unlike your Spencer who's unsure of himself, I'm aggressive and don't think about consequences, and that makes me a winner and him a loser!" Fumu sighing, "You really don't know what he's been like for the last week, do you?"

"SHUT UP!" Spencer spat, leaping high into the air, soon ending up right above Fumu before pointing his blade downward, aiming it toward the girl's skull. Fumu noticed this just in time to leap forward, barely dodging the attack as Spencer rammed his blade into the ice, the swordsman saying, "Minor setback."

However, when he tried to pry the blade out, his eyes went wide as he found it was stuck, the Kirby trying desperately to get it out. Fumu stared at this and shook her head, making her way toward the end of the bridge. However, just as she was about to make it, she felt a slight movement in the bridge before turning and seeing cracks forming around the clone's blade.

As such, the princess ran toward the end of the bridge, almost slipping as she leapt forward, barely making it just in time. The cracks soon covered the entire bridge, the whole structure collapsing as the Spencer clone screamed in terror, falling to his death while Fumu sat down on the snow, taking a deep breath, not even caring about how cold she was right now. She was just happy to be alive.


	24. Chapter 24

Fumu slowly got up and took a deep breath, now starting to get used to the cold. After such a life-threatening experience, the lack of temperature hardly mattered right now. If anything, this just meant Fumu would need to find a way out as soon as possible, and if Chilly was correct, she was definitely heading the right way.

As such, the princess turned away from the ledge where the ice bridge once stayed, making her way along the straight path ahead. She couldn't turn back now even if she wanted to. She'd already destroyed both ways of getting across to the other side.

While walking along, she noticed many Roly Polies in the area, thinking about the benefits of having one as a pet before shaking her head. This was hardly the time to be thinking about such a thing and right now, a creature that could only roll at incredible speeds would likely make things more difficult as if they weren't hard enough already.

Fumu walked a few miles in the cold air and mounds of snow. However, she stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed a familiar figure looming right before her, the princess staring in shock. Floating before her very eyes with his back turned to her was a pair of eyes with clothing representing a body of sorts. This clothing consisted of a red cloak, white gloves and black magician's hat. With a wand in his hand, this was none other than Wiz.

Fumu was spellbound, the wizard currently looking around with his hand over his eyes as he sighed, "Darn it, where'd that stupid seal thing go with my bow tie?"

Fumu's last encounter with this strange wizard was not exactly a fond one. A few weeks ago, this spirit had come to the castle applying for a job as an entertainer. During an invasion of invincible demon beasts that he himself summoned, he tried to steal the lollipop only to be stopped by Motoko.

However, this didn't last long as Wiz ended up using the ninja's powers against her to knock her out. Luckily, Fumu had arrived just in time, using her knowledge of magic to turn Wiz's powers against him, trapping him in his own hat before causing the hat itself to vanish. Where Wiz ended up was anyone's guess up until now.

Fumu tried to walk around him without being spotted only to step on a branch, Wiz turning his gaze saying, "Oh, it's just a person..." his eyes going wide as he stared silently at Fumu for some time, the princess gulping as the wizard pointed at her shouting, "YOU!"

Fumu laughed nervously, the wizard frowning as the princess said, "Um... hi... so this is where you've been all this time?" Wiz nodding, smacking his wand repeatedly against the palm of his hand like a blunt weapon saying, "Yes, yes it is."

The princess trembled as the wizard said, "You were quite clever stopping me last time, but I've been trying to find a way back so I may exact my revenge on you. How fortunate that you would come right to me into this, the Mirror World."

"Mirror World?" Fumu asked as the wizard nodded replying, "Yes, this is another dimension of sorts, a world trapped inside a mirror. To be perfectly honest, I actually don't hate this place too much. We get actual sunlight here and since I don't have a real body, I can't feel cold."

"Oh, so there are no hard feelings then," Fumu replied with a hopeful smile, Wiz sighing, pinching his imaginary forehead groaning, "Did you not just hear me? I may not hate this place, but I don't really like it either and you know why?" the princess blinking in confusion as the magician barked, "Because there's no castle for me to conquer!"

"Is that what you wanted?" Fumu asked, Wiz sighing, "Figured someone who was born into royalty would think it nothing special to live the life of a princess, but me, I would love to have a life like that!" Fumu snickering and replying, "You mean you want to be a princess?" Wiz fuming before barking, "DON'T BE SMART WITH ME!" the man then pointed to an empty space where his right hand should have been adding, "By the way, I'm still missing my glove and I know I can't get it back after you shamelessly burned it off!"

"Why not just buy a new one?" Fumu asked with a shrug, "There's a village South from here. I'm sure the mayor would love to lend you one," Wiz blinking before shaking his imaginary head retorting, "SHUT UP!" Fumu then adding, "Wait, where did you get that glove? I burned both of them off," Wiz blinking before replying, "I found this one lying in a snowbank," all going silent as he barked, "STOP DISTRACTING ME!"

With that, the wizard took a deep breath, saying, "Well, now that I only have one hand, I guess I'll have to do this the hard way," setting his wand down, having the end planted in the snow so the wand was still pointed upward, the wizard then taking off his hat and setting it down before picking up his wand, tapping it against the hat as a small nimbus cloud flew out, heading toward Fumu and letting loose various bolts of lightning, the princess barely dodging in time to avoid being shocked.

Unfortunately, the cloud didn't vanish or anything as it continued to chase her, Wiz tapping his hat again, this time summoning a flock of fire birds saying, "With you so cold, these will only burn you more!" all of them flying at the princess who tried her best to dodge only to be grazed by one, crying out in pain. Despite his handicap, Wiz was still a force to be reckoned with.

However, there was one major flaw to his strategy and an obvious reason he was starting with such a strong offence. Because he only had one hand to use his spells with, he had no choice but to keep his hat off of him when using magic and as such, his magical hat was completely exposed.

With that in mind, the princess had to get in close and take the hat away so the wizard couldn't use his magic anymore, but that seemed even more difficult when the magician used it to summon an army of small round creatures with wings called Bronto Burts, all of them flying toward Fumu along with the fire birds coming from the other side and the nimbus honing in on her. However, it wasn't long until the princess saw a way out of this, a smirk forming on her face as she leapt out of the way just in time for the nimbus to reach the area she was originally standing in, the fire birds and Burts flying straight into the cloud, the flames causing the cloud to evaporate thus vanishing from the area, the Burts all burned up as the force of them colliding with the fire birds caused them to pass out.

Wiz stared in absolute shock when the princess leapt over to his hat, the wizard unable to react in time for the girl to swipe it for herself, ramming her elbow hard into the magician's cloak, causing him to drop his wand, the girl picking it up and exclaiming, "I took care of you once before, I can do it again!"

With that, she tapped the wand up against the hat while pointing the hole on the bottom toward Wiz, the magician's eyes wide with terror as wind started to travel into the hat. Wiz panicked, trying to float away while placing his hand against the ground and holding tightly onto it only to end up losing his grip, his cloak soon flying into the hat followed by his hand and finally his eyes, Fumu then having the hat inhale itself.

The princess took a deep breath saying, "Well, that was mildly annoying," only for a black hole to appear in the air, the girl's eyes going wide as Wiz popped back out, laughing maniacally as Fumu stared in confusion. That was how she stopped him last time. Why had it failed this time?

"Did you seriously think that was going to work?" the wizard asked as Fumu frowned, leaping at the wizard and kicking him hard in robe, sending his body back as she grabbed his hat and wand, using them to inhale the magician again only for him to once again reappear, Wiz barking, "Would you stop that!? It's kind of annoying!"

"But... I don't get it..." Fumu uttered, staring in shock as the wizard sighed, "Think about it. That portal sent me here the first time around, so it only stands to reason that it would send me here every other time. In fact, that's why I didn't try the same thing on you. It's pointless."

Fumu let out a disappointed sigh, groaning, "I guess that does make sense," Wiz replying, "Thank you," about to place his hat against the ground again as Fumu smirked remarking, "You're still at a disadvantage though," charging at him only for the wizard to tap the hat once again, a Scarfy coming out before forming into its demonic form, flying at Fumu and biting onto her face, the princess letting down nervous sweat before the cat exploded, causing her to stumble backwards, now covered in burn marks as her dress was even more damaged than when evil Spencer cut it open.

"Girl, you are pathetic," Wiz said with a look of confidence, "I applaud you for being able to use magic and studying it for as long as you have, but without magical tools of your own, it's pointless. You can only use magic when you're using my stuff, and I'm not gonna float idly by and let you do it."

As painful as it was to admit, the wizard was right. Fumu may have had knowledge in magic but she'd never actually taken the time to get her own items to help her perform it. However, she also knew that some of the greatest magicians in the world didn't need fancy hats or wands to pull off magic, but that was such an advanced art. How could someone as inexperienced as Fumu pull it off?

Well, it certainly didn't hurt to try as the princess closed her eyes, remembering the name of a spell she'd read when studying magic long ago and chanting, "PYROSHIDEN!" the girl holding her arms out only for nothing to happen, Wiz staring silently for a few before seconds before breaking out into hysterics shouting, "OH MY GOD, YOU REALLY HAVE GOTTEN DESPERATE! COME ON, SHOW ME ANOTHER ONE!"

Fumu gritted her teeth thinking, 'Come on, please work...' chanting, "Arumagon," only for nothing to happen once again, Wiz sighing, "Pitiful," the magician summoning another flock of fire birds, all of them flying at the princess, the girl closing her eyes as she spat, "AQUAMIZU!" her body starting to glow as some of the snow melted into water, rising up off the ground and flying at the birds, knocking each and every one of them out cold, the cold air freezing the water around them, encasing them in ice.

Wiz stared silently, trembling and asking, "How did you do that?" Fumu blinking as she opened her eyes, gasping when she noticed the birds trapped in ice. After a few seconds, the girl put two and two together, a smirk forming on her face, Wiz trembling in terror. In a short period of time, Fumu had already managed to use an advanced spell without the help of any magical items.

Wiz was scared out of his mind as Fumu proceeded to summon a row of flames, all of them hitting the wizard hard, his cloak starting to burn as he tried desperately to fan it out only for his one glove to burn up, his wand catching fire as well, the wizard shouting, "NO!" his hat vanishing once the wand was gone.

The wizard trembled and closed his eyes tight, Fumu taking a deep breath and lowering her arms, a smile on her face as she said, "Looks like I win," the princess walking gracefully passed Wiz and heading forward, the magician opening his eyes and turning back to her, a look of shock in his expression. He was at her mercy once again. She could have killed him yet she didn't. But one thing was for certain: there was no way the wizard was going to mess with her again, now that he knew just how strong of a magician she was.

After walking a little more, Fumu soon came across a mirror with a portal in it, the princess not thinking twice before entering. She had a feeling this would lead her where she wanted to go. And with Fumu's story at a close, let us go back and witness another one unfold.

Melanie was walking through the field, looking at all the beautiful sights around her. Sure, she knew how serious this situation was, but she'd never been to such a beautiful place before. Here, there were no clouds to block out the sun. There was green grass all over the place and flowers all around her. It was perfect.

But each time the Hammer Kirby got distracted, she had to remind herself that she had been forced here. For all she knew, the locals here probably weren't that friendly.

While walking, Melanie noticed all kinds of creatures around the area, none of them seeing the mind her presence. There were small furry heads with small fox tails known as Cheeps. There were birds flying all around the area. In fact, one of the Cheeps even hopped over to Melanie and nuzzled up against her with a sweet smile on its face.

Melanie bit her lip, trying not to smile in response to this but couldn't help herself as she squealed, "Aw!" leaning down and petting the creature, the animal licking her face. Maybe this place wasn't so bad.

However, during all of this, she noticed a blue streak of light pass by, the Hammer Kirby blinking in confusion when a small mole wearing boxing gloves rushed by shouting, "GET BACK HERE!" the blue streak shouting, "YOU GOTTA CATCH ME FIRST!"

Melanie watched in confusion as the moles took off her boxing gloves, tying them to her back before digging underground, the blue streak whizzing by when the mole rose up from under it, sending it flying into the air revealing that the streak was really a fast hedgehog with blue quills. With that, the mole rose up, sporting her boxing gloves again before delivering an uppercut to the hedgehog, knocking her on her back, grinning with pride.

"Damn you..." the hedgehog groaned as Melanie was still confused, the mole then helping the hedgehog up and saying, "Well, looks like I win today. That means we do what I wanna do," the mole placing her hands against her hips and grinning with pride.

The hedgehog sighed and groaned, "I swear, if you suggest worm hunting again, I will kill you," the mole remarking, "What's so bad about worms? They're tasty and good for you."

"Excuse me..." Melanie said, blinking before approaching the two, "What was all that about?"

"Who are you?" the hedgehog remarked with a rather rude tone, the mole sighing, "Haley, be nice. What she asked was a very good question," the hedgehog mocking the mole as Melanie shook her head, replying, "No, I should have introduced myself first. I'm Melanie."

The Hammer Kirby's eyes went wide when the hedgehog started sniffing her before saying, "I've never seen your kind around here before. Weird," the Kirby replying, "You mean I'm the only Kirby here?"

"Kirby?" the mole replied, "Well, that's an odd name for a species," the hedgehog glancing at the mole before remarking, "Now who's being rude?" the mole bonking her over the head and saying, "That was still more polite than what you said earlier."

With that, the two composed themselves before introducing themselves. The mole's name was Dessie and the hedgehog was Haley.

"Nice to meet you," Melanie said, Haley saying, "Yeah, yeah, can you just move along? Dessie has to choose an activity for the day," Dessie rolling her eyes and saying, "I'm sorry about my friend, here. She is so rude sometimes," Haley sticking her tongue out at the mole, the mole ignoring this and saying, "Hey, are you new here?"

Melanie nodded and replied, "Yeah... I don't really know much about this place..." Haley staring at Dessie and noticing the look on the rodent's face, the hedgehog shaking her head with an annoyed look only for Dessie to ignore this, her eyes sparkling as she stated, "I know what we can do today! Let's show our new friend around town!"

Haley moaned in annoyance as Dessie sighed, "Our parents wanted us back within the hour anyway," Haley grumbling, "Then why couldn't we have waited an hour before going back?"

Melanie laughed nervously and replied, "Um... I don't wanna be a burden..." Dessie saying, "Not at all. We'd love to show you around," Haley about to object again when Dessie glared at her and stated, "I won today's fight, so you have to do what I say," the hedgehog sighing, "Damn technicalities..."

While the trio walked toward the village that Dessie spoke of, Melanie asked about the fight the two were having earlier as Haley explained, "It's a daily tradition among the two of us that we came up with last year," Dessie nodding and replying, "Yeah, that was only a week after we first met. See, I was digging around looking for worms when a huge mouse mole appeared before me," Melanie asking, "Mouse mole?" Dessie nodding and replying, "Yeah, they're named after the fact that unlike other moles like me, they have mouse ears."

"Get to the point already," Haley remarked, Dessie nodding and adding, "Anyway, the mouse mole looked hungry, and, well, this particular breed likes to eat other animals, not just worms, so I'm sure it wanted me as a snack."

Haley beamed and replied, "That's right, and when I saw this happening, I wasn't gonna let it stand, so I rushed at the beast, striking it hard as both of us combined our might to deal just enough damage to the monster to make a clean getaway."

"From that moment on, we became bestest best friends," Dessie replied, giving Haley a hug as Melanie smiled replying, "That's so sweet," Haley struggling to get free from the hug before Dessie let go and explained, "Anyway, a week after this happened, we found ourselves unable to agree on an activity to do with one-another each day, so we came up with a solution."

Haley nodded and added, "That's right, each day we have a quick fight with each other and whoever lands a single blow gets to decide the activity."

"That sounds like fun," Melanie replied with a grin, laughing and saying, "I remember trying something like that with my friend Flint once. Unfortunately, he was still a loser when it came to fighting back then, so I always won. After about a week, he decided he was bored of it, but I knew he was really just too butthurt to try anymore."

Dessie then noticed a hammer strapped to Melanie's back and said, "So that's your weapon, I take it?" Haley remarking, "No duh..." Melanie chuckling and replying, "Well, I am a Hammer Kirby after all. I was born to wield this baby," Haley asking, "So... tell me, what's a Kirby?"

Melanie then proceeded to explain how there were various different types of Kirbies, all of which were born to fight a certain way. Sword Kirbies were meant to fight with swords, Fighter Kirbies used their bodies as weapons and Hammer Kirbies used hammers, just to name the types she and her friends were.

"Wow, that is so cool?" Dessie replied, her eyes sparkling and her jaw dropped as Haley asked, "Any Kirbies with spikes?" Melanie replying, "Yeah, we call them Needle Kirbies," Haley replying, "Oh my god, I wanna meet more of you. Where did you come from?"

Melanie sighed and remembered her mission, replying, "Well, you might not believe it, but I'm from another world," the two staring as Haley replied, "You're right, I don't believe that," Dessie looking down and replying, "Well, that does sound a little farfetched..." Melanie simply rolling her eyes and was about to explain everything only for the trio to reach the village, Dessie smiling and saying cheerfully, "Welcome to our humble home."

The village was a rather nice place. There were at least thirty houses here and a few shops. Naturally, all of the citizens were porcupines and moles. Before entering town, Dessie pulled off her gloves and tied them to her back. As it just so happened, her family didn't approve of her wearing them and only allowed her to keep them when they couldn't see her using them.

Melanie looked around with a smile, letting down a light tear. Dessie looked at her, wondering what that was all about as the Hammer Kirby sniffed a bit. The village actually reminded her a bit of Norwal, her hometown that had been destroyed by Kirisakin and his army they day they left on their quest to find New Pupupuland.

Many moles and hedgehogs waved hello to their fellow citizens, one older mole with a moustache noticing the two and saying, "Egad, they're back already? Oh, and I was ready for some peace and quiet today," Haley replying, "Oh, don't worry, Mr. Mayor, sir. We're too busy showing our new friend around to cause trouble today."

The older mole blinked and smiled saying, "How do you do?" Melanie bowing her head and replying, "I'm fine, thank you. My name's Melanie."

The mayor then walked over and examined the girl, sniffing her with his long snout as Dessie groaned, "Hey, that's rude," the mayor saying, "Sorry, it's just... I've never seen such an odd creature before..." Melanie laughing nervously and replying, "Well, I'm travelling around the world, you see..." the mole replying, "Say no more. You probably came here from the other side of the world," chuckling a bit before shaking her hand saying, "Well, it is a pleasure to have you in our humble Moleville."

While walking away, Melanie asked, "Why is it called Moleville with hedgehogs live here too?" Haley frowning before replying, "You know what, that is a very good question," Dessie sighing, "You know it's because moles built it, Haley..." the hedgehog grumbling, "No need to rub it in."

Melanie continued to look around as Haley turned to her and asked, "What's eating you?" Melanie sighing, "Sorry... it's just... I used to live in a village too..." Dessie asking, "Used to?" the Hammer Kirby nodding and replying, "Demon beasts destroyed it. My friends and I were the only survivors only because we weren't there when the monsters attacked," Haley's eyes wide with shock, a look of genuine concern on her face as Dessie uttering, "That's... terrible..." Melanie sighing, "I try not to let it get to me. I know my mom wouldn't want that and my dad would rise from his grave and kick my ass if I did."

The two rodents nodded in understanding, Haley saying, "I say she should rest up at my place," Dessie's eyes going wide as she remarked, "You rarely ever invite me over!" Melanie laughing nervously and replying, "Don't do what you don't want to for my sake," Haley replying, "Melanie, you have serious guts to stay strong after your friends, relatives, acquaintances and family died. I respect that more than enough to let you stay with me for a while," Dessie smiling and giving her friend a hug squealing, "I knew you were just a big softie!" Haley growling, looking like she was going to bite the mole for that comment.

With that, Melanie was brought into Haley's house, Dessie and her family also invited over. Haley and her family lived in a simple cottage. Needless to say, the parents of both rodents were very interested in the Kirby while she joined them for dinner.

Melanie noticed them staring at her as Haley's mother leaned toward her asking, "Excuse me, dear, but can I poke you?" a childish smile on her face as her father added, "I just want to pinch her round, puffy cheeks," Melanie staring at each of them with slight annoyance, Dessie's mother sighing, "Please, Harold, Heather, that's rude," Dessie nodding as Haley sighed, Dessie's father adding, "Yes, she's your guest. Respect her personal space."

Melanie's look of annoyance turned to a big smile as she broke out into hysterics, the others soon joining her. Melanie explained the whole concept behind Kirbies and other types to the parents, Haley still amazed by all of this despite already hearing about it.

"My, my, I would love to visit your hometown sometime," Dessie's mother replied with a smile, Haley's father nodding and saying, "Yeah, your kind sounds awesome," Melanie smiling but all the while feeling bad about this. The odds of something like that ever happening were very slim.

After dinner, Melanie was back to the outskirts of town sitting on a stump, the rodents with her as Haley asked, "So... what was that about you being from another world?" Melanie blinking and replying, "Oh yeah, I never did get around to that..." Dessie nodding and saying, "Yes, I'd like to hear about this too. I didn't believe it at first, but the more I think about it, the more real it seems."

Melanie nodded and said, "Well, you guys are awesome, so I'll tell you all you need to know," Haley grinning before replying, "Naturally," Dessie hushing her, too interested to let the hedgehog interrupt.


	25. Chapter 25

Melanie proceeded to tell her new friends everything that had happened, how she was sucked into a mirror and ended up in here. Dessie and Haley were amazed by all of this to the point where they wanted to know all about her world.

The Hammer Kirby thought about this and said, "Well, I live on a planet called Dark Star. It's not the nicest place to live but it's okay. As the name implies, the skies are always dark."

"That sounds terrible," Dessie replied, "Why would you want to go back there?" Haley grinning and stating, "I think it sounds cool..." Melanie sighing, "It's home, though," Dessie nodding in understand. She couldn't imagine living anywhere besides Moleville.

The mole then asked, "Wait, if your village was destroyed, where do you live now?" Melanie beaming and replying, "Well, I don't mean to brag, but I live in the castle of a town called New Pupupuland and serve the royal army," Haley's eyes going wide as she slowly walked over to the Hammer Kirby, bowing her head and saying, "You are officially my hero."

Melanie chuckled in response to this before saying, "Yeah, I've met many good people there. Of course my childhood friends Spencer and Flint are great, but my trainer, Knuckle Joe, is a very fun guy and I also met the love of my life."

Haley stuck out her tongue remarking, "Forget what I just said," Dessie holding her hands together with a big smile saying, "I think it's sweet," Melanie sighing with her cheeks red adding, "Yes, I met Metaknight shortly after moving there. See, he's a big-time celebrity in my world and has always been my hero."

Haley looked slightly more interested as Melanie told of Metaknight's many exploits as a Star Soldier. The more and more the hedgehog heard of this man's many accomplishments and just how powerful he was, her eyes sparkled brighter and brighter. This Metaknight sounded like the most awesome creature in existence.

"He can also transform into a dragon," Melanie added as if said power was a good thing, Dessie and Haley even more amazed until the Hammer Kirby sighed, Dessie asking, "Have you told him your feelings yet?"

Melanie looked down and nodded her head replying, "Yeah, but... well... it won't work..." Haley barking, "WHY NOT!?" Dessie giving the hedgehog an awkward stare as Haley shrugged her shoulders, replying, "Hey, he sounds cool. That's good enough for me," Melanie letting out a sigh and replying, "He's... older than me..." Dessie replying, "Well, that doesn't sound like such a big..." the Hammer Kirby adding, "by more than thirty years," the mole staring wide-eyed. This had just turned awkward.

"How would you not know that?" Haley asked, Dessie about to retort until she remembered that was actually a good question, Melanie sighing, "It's the big downfall to us Kirbies when it comes to figuring out age. We always look the same no matter how old we are, so a 100 year old Kirby would look similar to a 15 year old," Haley blinking and saying, "Wow... you just blew my mind..."

Melanie took a deep breath and smiled lightly saying, "It's okay, though. I've come to accept it. Besides, I might meet someone better someday," Haley remarking, "Better than a guy who can turn into a dragon!?" Dessie clamping the hedgehog's mouth shut, smiling sweetly and saying, "Good for you. Acceptance is always a good thing."

Melanie grinned before getting up and adding, "It was great meeting you guys, but I need to find a way back home," Haley turned to Dessie and sighing, "I know exactly what you're thinking," the mole grinning before walking over to Melanie, saying, "You're not going alone. We may not know the way back home, but we do know of a mirror that leads to another area. That might just help."

Melanie's eyes widened, soon sparkling as she smiled bright, nodding her head and saying, "Thanks, guys," the rodents grinning with pride before leading Melanie into the forest area.

Unlike with Flint and Fumu, Melanie had a very calm and clear path ahead. Luckily, none of the creatures here were vicious or deadly, so travelling through the area was a breeze. Along the way, they simply conversed with each other about various things regarding their personal lives, Haley and Dessie more and more amazed every time the Hammer Kirby told them a story of her many battles.

She even told of the war that had taken place a week ago, the rodents sniffing when she mentioned the death of her friend Bun. Even Haley couldn't imagine just how painful it was to lose a friend. But they were glad to hear that the demon beasts had started to lay off after the big battle.

Soon the group was in a wide open field with no trees or bushed or anything, just flowers and grass, Dessie saying, "The mirror should be somewhere around here," the ground shaking, Dessie and Haley's eyes going wide, the two gulping as Haley uttered, "Wait... isn't this where you ran into...?" Dessie cutting in, whimpering, "I think it is..."

At that moment, a big patch of dirt rose up as a huge mammal came up, grabbing a worm crawling by and slurping it down like a spaghetti strand, Dessie and Haley trembling as Melanie blinked at the sight of this. The creature that had appeared was a huge grey mole with the ears of a mouse. It had sharp red claws on the ends of its light-brown paws and sported a pair of shades.

"IT'S THE MOUSE MOLE!" both exclaimed, trembling as Melanie asked, "How do you know it's the same one?" Dessie letting down nervous sweat and replying, "Well, we should have mentioned earlier that it's the only one of its kind..."

Melanie blinked and replied, "Okay, that doesn't really make sense, but it makes this battle a little bit easier knowing more won't appear," the other two staring as she pulled out her hammer, Dessie asking, "You're not gonna fight it, are you?" Melanie replying, "Please, I've faced a giant suit of armour with a flail before. This is nothing."

The two stared, their eyes sparkling, Melanie officially having become their new hero. With that, the Kirby held her guard up, the mole turning toward her and licking its lips, clearly still hungry despite having just eaten a worm. Unlike most moles, this mouse mole seemed to have a taste for anything that was smaller than it.

This showed when the creature started to charged at Melanie, using its claws to propel it forward only for Melanie to panic, leaping to the side just in time along with the other two shouting, "GODDAMMIT, THIS THING'S FAST!" the mole blinking, looking back and forth, clearly confused as to where the three had gone as Melanie took full of advantage of this, leaping toward the creature and spinning her body around with her hammer at the ready.

However, the mole turned just in time to see her coming, quickly burrowing back underground as Melanie's hammer rammed into the ground, the Kirby blinking as the mole came up from behind, striking her in the back with his claws as her skin opened up, blood flying out, the Kirby rolling along the ground a bit.

With that, Melanie finally lost her temper for the first time today, fuming as she charged at the mole shouting, "HOLD STILL, YOU PRICK!" the rodent simply burrowing underground as Melanie slammed her hammer down again, Dessie and Haley watching this with concern.

The Kirby noticed the mole appear right behind her, turning around and swinging her hammer downward again only for the mole to go back underground, appearing next to her as she swung it sideways, the mole going underground a forth time. It was as if the demon viewed this as a game or something.

After a while, the rodent rose up holding a tire, Melanie turning and asking, "Where did he get that?" the creature hurling it at her as she narrowly dodged it, the mole then hurling rocks toward her, Melanie unable to dodge in time before taking a couple to the face, rubbing said spot and groaning, the mole going back underground, soon popping up again, this time holding an oil drum.

"Okay, seriously, who would bury something like that underground!?" Melanie spat as the mole hurled it forward, the Kirby narrowly dodging just in time to avoid a huge explosion, the resulting shock wave sending her tumbling toward Dessie and Haley, the rodents catching her and stopping her little trip across the ground.

Melanie shook her head, trying to get up as Haley asked, "Are you okay?" Melanie taking a deep breath and replying, "Never been better..." slowing getting up as Dessie said, "Wait, if you're serious about fighting this beast, then we'll help you."

Haley nodded and grinned saying, "Anything for our new friend," Melanie blinked before smiling and nodding, replying, "Yeah, let's do this."

With that, Melanie charged at the mole, the rodent about to burrow back underground only for Haley to streak around the area, soon charging hard into the side of the mole's face, putting a light bruise on the spot as Dessie proceeded to deliver a hard two-fisted punch to its midsection. With the mole distracted, Melanie had the perfect advantage as she rammed her hammer hard into the top of the beast's head, its eyes swirling as it fell back, using its last ounce of strength to hold its arms back just in time to stop its back from breaking, the mouse mole out like a light.

Melanie took a deep breath and grinned saying, "And that's that," Dessie and Haley staring in shock, both of them turning to one-another and squealing with delight. They had just defeated the most powerful creature in their area. This was a day worth celebrating.

With that, the trio headed a little bit further down before reaching a rather tall bush. Dessie pushed the leaves to the side revealing a big mirror sticking up out of the ground, Melanie bowing her head to the two, thanking them before holding out her fists, Dessie bumping her fist against the Kirby's while Haley used her nose as her feet were too small and stubby for her to lift that high.

With that, Melanie grinned at each of them, both waving, Dessie exclaiming, "If we can, we promise we'll visit you every now and then!" Haley adding, "You're the coolest girl I've ever met, even cooler than Dessie!" the mole next to her not even taking all that much offence to this statement as she actually kind of agreed.

With Melanie's story out of the way, it is time to go back in time yet again, this time to witness another story. Perhaps that of Knuckle Joe. Why not? He was the forth to be sucked into the Mirror World.

Joe was currently walking down a hallway, looking around with a look of irritation on his face. He just wanted to get out of here as soon as possible. Not only was this because of the predicament he was in, but he felt extremely uncomfortable being in a castle where the walls were coloured purple. Sure, Joe didn't really hate the colour or anything, he just felt uncomfortable being surrounded by something he viewed as 'slightly feminine', especially since the colour reminded him of Motoko and her deceitful ways.

While wandering the hall, he noticed an army of Rockies dead ahead, his eyes going wide as he quickly hid behind a corner, peering into the room just to see if these rocks could be trusted or not. It seemed unlikely as a huge Rocky, one that was at least three times the size of the others, was training them saying, "Alright, men, listen up! Our king just got word from Drake himself that someone has infiltrated our castle! I can't imagine how anyone could slip past our defences, but this cannot go on any longer! So, are we gonna dispose of this threat!?" the Rockies all jumping up and down before giving an army salute with one foot each shouting, "YES, SIR, SERGEANT STONE, SIR!" Joe thinking, 'Very original, naming your son Stone.'

After the speech, Stone sent the Rockies off for patrol. A couple walked Joe's way, noticing him standing there, but just as they were about to call for backup, Joe grabbed them and slammed them into the wall behind him, knocking them out in seconds.

He then peered back to make sure the coast was clear when he noticed two people made of stone, one pink and the other grey. Each one was shaped like an egg with arms and feet, their eyes and mouths perfectly round as if they were holes drilled into them.

"Can we do anything?" asked the grey one, the voice clearly being that of a male as the other spoke in a female voice saying, "Yeah, we can be useful too."

Stone nodded and grinned, saying, "Volunteering! That's what I like to see! I wish my soldiers would take action without me needing to tell them!" before adding, "Alright, Golem siblings..." the pink one replying, "We have names," Stone sighing, "Right..." pointing at the male with his foot and saying, "Granite..." then pointing at the female and adding, "Kimberlite, I want you two to guard the king's chambers. This intruder is looking for something that's specifically hidden in his chambers, so if ever finds out about it, I want you guys to stop him," the two giving an army salute exclaiming, "Sir, yes, sir!"

With that, the two tucked in their feet and arms, rolling out of the area as Stone proceeded to walk off as well, Joe grinning while thinking, 'Thanks for the information, moron,' looking at his victims and narrowing his eyelids, smacking one of them until he woke up, the Rocky about to cry for help when Joe rose his fist threateningly, the rock simply nodding, not saying a word.

"Good boy," Joe said with a wicked grin, "Now tell me where I can find your king's chamber, oh, and if you send me in the wrong direction, I will hunt you down, got it!?" the Rocky nodding in understanding before saying, "First, you must go into the room our commander was just in. After that, go through the far right door. Remember, far right," Joe nodding in understanding the rock continued, "After that, you must go down the hall before you find a dead end with two paths. Take the left path and keep going until you reach it."

Joe smirked and set the rock down saying, "Thanks. Stay out of my way and I'll leave you be," the Rocky nodding as the fighter ran off, the rock narrowing his eyelids and whispering, "You won't be able to exact revenge on me once you find out the truth," the rock soon stomping up and down, causing a certain vibration that only other Rockies could hear, using Morse code to send a message to them regarding Joe's presence.

While running down the hall, Joe found it surprisingly easy to get around. No one was trying to stop him, which was strange. He had truly seen a group of Rockies go through the far right door earlier, so why hadn't he at least run into some of them? Either way, this simply made the job easier so he thought little of it.

Soon enough, the boy came to the fork with the path leading left, but just as he was about to head that way, he stopped and thought carefully about this. Why had no one tried to stop him yet?

"This just isn't right," he said aloud to himself, "There should be guards patrolling this hall for me to beat up," one Rocky poking his head out from behind a corner in the right hallway, jumping up and down as the code went to the others translating to 'He's starting to get suspicious. Send a guard to the left hall,' one Rocky immediately stepping out from a corner leading to another path down the left hallway and clearing his throat before pointing and shouting, "INTRUDER ALERT!"

Joe frowned and said, "Alright, now I know I'm going the right way," the fighter using a Smash Punch to knock out the Rocky, barrelling down the hall as the rock on the right side followed him just far away enough not to be spotted.

Joe soon turned the corner, the Rocky he'd hit grumbling curses under his breath as the fighter ran into more willing to sacrifice themselves for this minor job. Joe easily made quick work of them, shaking his head at what weak guards this Sergeant Stone guy had under his wing. Soon enough, he found a door at the end of the hall, entering, ready to come face-to-face with the king. In all the excitement, it had completely slipped his mind that the two golems earlier were supposed to be standing guard.

As Joe entered the next room, he found himself in what looked like a battle arena with the lights turned off, iron bars shooting up and blocking the door he'd just entered from, the boy's eyes going wide when the lights turned on. He then realized he was surrounded by Rockies and Sergeant Stone himself in the bleachers, Stone barking, "ATTACK!" all of the Rockies leaping out of their seats, headed for Joe from above.

The fighter cringed before running around, doing his best to dodge the incoming rocks, kicking a few after they'd landed. However, he soon found himself overwhelmed, the Rockies seconds away from crushing him, the fighter taking a deep breath and throwing his fists forward, releasing an onslaught of Vulcan jabs, the energy from his fists knocking most of them back into the bleachers, the Rockies he hit now lying out cold. The only ones that had bypassed him were the ones covering the areas he wasn't standing in, all of them landing and forming a large ring around him.

Stone stared in absolute shock before shaking his head and smirking, shouting, "YOU JUST DUG YOUR OWN GRAVE, BOY!" leaping up high into the air, knowing the gap that Joe was standing in was just the sergeant's size.

Joe cringed at the sight of this as the other Rockies started to hone in on him, the fighter realizing he couldn't possibly make a line of them in time to save himself, the boy focusing hard before throwing his fist upward, energy flowing through it thus letting loose a fierce uppercut. Luckily, he had done this just in time for Stone to hone in on him, the giant rock taking in the blow hard as he flew up into the air a bit, his body turning 180 degrees, the top of his head facing downward as he fell onto a row of Rockies, crushing them underneath his extreme weight.

Seeing their general taken down, the others Rockies screamed in terror before fleeing for their lives, using their might to break open the iron bars so that they could escape, Joe smirking as he walked nonchalantly over to the door, opening it up and casually making his way out of the room. That ended up being a lot easier than it first seemed, but it only felt natural to someone like Joe.

Soon enough, Joe was back to heading down the hall grumbling, "Great... now where do I go?" noticing no other Rockies around. Those must have been all the soldiers this king of theirs had. Well, that certainly wasn't much of a security system, was it? Nevertheless, Joe realized he'd have to search the whole building until he found one being guarded by two egg-shaped golems.

At this very moment, the two rock people were standing by the door to their king's chambers, Granite smiling with his arms folded, the male saying, "I hope the Rockies haven't been beaten up by that intruder," Kimberlite sighing, "Sometimes I wonder, brother," Granite blinking and asking, "About what, sis?" the pink golem looking at her brother and replying, "Sometimes I wonder if we're really serving the right king."

"Why would you say such a thing?" Granite asked as Kimberlite sighed, "Think about it... he just randomly appeared one day and we simply decided he would rule us because we figured his presence was a sign of God, but think about it: he's never done anything for us. He always demands that we do things for him while making no laws, no order, nothing. He just sits there all day."

"Yeah, but keep in mind he literally can't move from that spot," Granite replied as the female took a deep breath, replying, "I know, but... well... you'd think a king would do more."

The sad fact was that this king of theirs wasn't a very good one at all. Like they said, he had randomly appeared one day, just a big stone pillar that had one day come to life for some unexplained reason. Since then, all the Rockies and golems ever did was wait on him, keeping any guests from entering his chambers be them good or bad. Probably the worst though was that once a week, this king of theirs would eat. This didn't sound so bad except for the fact that he ate rocks and since no one dared damage the mansion and the king refused to let anyone leave it for paranoid reasons, Stone would always end up having to sacrifice one of his soldiers, going with the weakest one every time, hence why Rockies often did their best to appease their sergeant.

At that moment, Joe arrived with a lone Rocky in his hand, the rock with tears in his eyes sniffing, "Okay, we're here now! Please let me go!" Joe nodding and replying, "Thank you for your cooperation," releasing the stone as he ran off in terror, the golems staring as Joe cracked his knuckles, saying, "Alright, let's get this over with."

Granite held out his fists with a proud smile saying, "You've reached your end, criminal!" Kimberlite adding, "That's right, because now you're dealing with the Golem Siblings!"

With that, the two locked hands with one another as Joe blinked, slapping his hand against his forehead groaning, "You're not gonna sing, are you?" the two pointing their free hands into the air singing, "WE ARE THE GOLEM SIBLINGS, GRANITE AND KIMBERLITE!"

With that, the two separated their hands from each other as Granite stated, "We live to serve our mighty king..." Kimberlite adding, "We'll never give up the fight!"

With that, Kimberlite stepped on her brother's hands, climbing onto his shoulders and standing there, both singing, "We defend the Moonlight Mansion with everything we got!" Kimberlite leaping off of Granite as the brother locked arms with her, both moving their feet up and down as both added, "If you dare to mess with us, you are destined to be caught!"

With that, the two tucked in and rolled around each other in a figure eight formation singing, "We are the Golem Siblings, Granite and Kimberlite! Don't dare to challenge us for we're always poised to fight! We powerful, near invincible, our strength is inconceivable, we're the greatest fighters in this place, we're the last people you should face!" Granite lifting up his sister by her hand and holding her up, the girl balancing perfectly while upside down, Joe blinking and asking, "You know you just wasted a bunch of time, right?"

With that, the golems got into fighter stances as Granite held up his fists saying, "Come on, let's make this quick," Kimberlite nodding and saying, "As long as we're together, no one can stop us," Joe smirking and pounding his fist against the palm of his other hand stating, "That's what you think!"


	26. Chapter 26

Joe readied himself as Granite and Kimberlite tucked in their arms and feet, rolling at the fighter like boulders. Joe smirked and easily dodged them to the right. However, these golems seemed a tad smarter than the kid gave them credit for as Granite knocked himself into Kimberlite like a pinball, sending his sister rolling twice as fast at Joe, the fighter unable to dodge as he took in a fierce blow, tumbling along the ground as both stone people reformed into their regular stances.

"Don't underestimate the power of teamwork," Granite said with a smile as Kimberlite nodded and added, "We're our king's top soldiers for a reason," Joe grunting, "Well, you are certainly better than those Rockies, that's for sure."

With that, the fighter got up with a smirk on his face as the golems gasped, Kimberlite trembling and saying, "Granite, he's acting as if I didn't just hit him," Granite patting her shoulder and replying, "It's okay, sis, he's just arrogant," Joe scowling as a vain formed on his forehead, Granite adding, "There, see? That reaction proves it," Joe barking, "THAT PROVES NOTHING!"

With that, Joe sent an array of Vulcan Jabs toward them. Both stone people simply held up their arms in a cross formation in front of their faces, taking in the energy blasts as if they were nothing. However, it didn't take long for Knuckle to figure out why it had failed. After all, Vulcan Jab was the weakest of all the advanced fighting techniques, hence why it was so easy to use a whole bunch of them at once. If anything, Joe needed to focus on using his more powerful techniques and while it may have been more difficult to strike two opponents at once with such moves, it was his only chance.

Unfortunately, before he could even attempt this, the golems had taken full advantage of his mistake of using Vulcan Jabs, Granite rolling hard into him as Kimberlite propelled herself over his head, ramming her skull hard into Joe's gut, the boy careening into a wall, a small crack forming as he grunted.

"Alright, I'll admit that I did underestimate you two..." Granite smiling at his sister and saying, "Hey, I got him to admit it," Joe then getting up and planting his fist against his palm adding, "However, there is one major problem with both of your fighting styles! Both times you hit me, it was because I let my guard down! If I was on full alert, I could easily dodge you because even with your combined powers, you're both slow!"

"Oh no, he's right..." Kimberlite murmured, trembling as Granite blinked, adding, "I'm amazed it took him this long to figure it out," Joe fuming and barking, "ARE YOU CALLING ME STUPID!?"

With that, the golems both rolled toward Joe again, the boy simply dodging. However, this still proved ineffective as Granite reached one of his arms out, grabbing Joe's leg. Before the boy could retaliate, Kimberlite rolled over to the other side of him and grabbed his other leg, both of them pulling his legs back and causing him to fall forward face-first into the floor, Granite taking full advantage of this and regaining a standing position, leaping up and landing hard against Joe's back, the boy's eyes on the verge of popping out of their sockets.

"You are right about one thing," Granite said with a smile, "We are physically slow, but what you didn't count on is that we're also smart. We know better than to just rely on strength and speed alone. You gotta be able to think as well."

The fighter looked so pathetic right now. With such a heavy creature standing on him, how could he do anything? It was only a matter of time until his spine was completely crushed. However, Joe's pride was far too powerful, his eyes going ablaze as he planted his hands firmly against the ground, attempting to push himself up as Granite blinked, starting to lose his balance a bit while Kimberlite trembled, holding her hands over her mouth.

"I got nothing against you two..." Joe grunted, actually making progress as one of his hands started to glow, "After all, you're just doing your job, however, you're also getting in my way!"

With that, the boy sent his fist upward, striking Granite's lower body before leaping high up, Granite landing hard on his back as Joe rose up into the air. His foot then started to glow as well, the boy aiming a Sky Kick at Kimberlite, the pink golem too scared to move out of the way in time, the stone person taking in the fierce kick to her face and also falling on her back, shifting her body around in an attempt to get back up.

With that, the fighter let out a sigh and was about to enter the king's chambers when both golems pushed themselves up, breathing heavily as Granite said, "Look, we may not like our ruler, but he's still our king. We will fight for his life until we die."

"Yes, we won't let you kill him," Kimberlite added as Joe blinked, asking, "Wait... wait... why do you hate this guy so much if you're willing to defend him?"

All went silent as the golems turned to each other, Kimberlite saying, "You know, brother, he does have a point," Granite sighing, "I guess we may as well tell you since you did care enough to ask," Joe letting down a sweat drop thinking, 'These two may fight well, but personality-wise, they're pushovers.'

Granite took a deep breath and said, "To be honest, we didn't even know he'd be our king. See, before, his chambers were just a simple room in the mansion with a big stone pillar in it," Kimberlite nodding and replying, "One day, a black aura surrounded the pillar giving it a face and hands," Joe blinking and adding, "You say a black aura created him?" thinking hard about this, but no, Nightmare was supposed to be dead. This couldn't possibly be his work, could it?

Granite simply nodded and replied, "Well, yeah, but colour doesn't matter to us. Anyway, he immediately demanded we make him our king, so we agreed, needing someone to guide us," Kimberlite adding, "Since then, he makes us guard him all the time and uses our Rockies as a source of food."

"So let me get this straight..." Joe replied, pinching his forehead and sighing, "You only serve this jerk-face cannibal of a king simply because you couldn't think for yourselves?" all going silent until Granite said, "You know, when you put it that way, I guess it is kind of pathetic."

Joe folded his arms and nodded, replying, "Kind of is an understatement. You two at least seem like nice people, so here's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna march in there and destroy this bastard king of yours and win you your freedom back. After all, I don't see you guys gaining the courage to do it yourselves."

The golem siblings simply looked at one-another before looking back at Joe, Granite lowering himself to the ground, placing his hands against it and lowering his head a bit saying, "Thank you for showing us the light, Mister... um..." Joe replying, "The name's Knuckle Joe," the boy holding up his finger and wiping the spot that one could call his nose.

The golems wished him the best of luck and apologize for all the pain dealt to him, Joe forgiving them and understanding why they'd attacked him. It was like he said: they were only doing what they were hired to do. With all said and done, Joe kicked open the door to the king's chambers, his eyes going wide when he saw the king sleeping.

The Golem Siblings weren't kidding when they said he was a pillar come to life. Quite literally their king was a big pillar sticking up out of the ground only he wasn't quite attached to the roof. He had big stone hands resting on the floor, two big stone bricks sticking out above his eyes to represent eyebrows, a bigger brick sticking out under his eyes representing a nose. His mouth was made up of one big slab of rock in the form of a moustache and another big slab representing a lower lip.

At that moment, the king let out a deafening yawn before opening his eyes, both shaped like ovals and looking as if they were drilled into his face. When the stone pillar saw Joe standing there, he narrowed his eyebrows and gritted his stone teeth roaring in a big booming voice, "WHO DARE DISTURBS THE SLUMBER OF KING GOLEM!?"

Joe frowned and said, "I was just coming here to find a way out, but now I feel like taring you apart," the king blinking and saying, "King Golem might know who you are. King Golem got a message from Drake, the ruler of our universe, that someone not from this mansion was coming here!"

"Yeah, that's me alright," Joe replied with a smirk, clenching a fist and adding, "What are you gonna do about it?" King Golem remarking, "King Golem will squash you like a bug! You may try to destroy King Golem but King Golem will make intruder suffer and..." Joe remarking, "Do you always talk in third-person?"

The king's eye twitched as he roared, "HOW DARE INTRUDER INTERRUPT KING GOLEM! KING GOLEM WILL DESTROY INTRUDER!" all going silent as Joe stood there blinking, the king them moving up one of his hands, pointing out one finger and moving it toward himself saying, "Intruder come closer so King Golem can squash intruder."

Joe let down a sweat drop before groaning, "You mean you really can't move? Man, you are pathetic!" King Golem grinning and replying, "Well, if intruder wants to defeat King Golem, intruder will need to get closer, then King Golem squash intruder like a bug!"

Joe let out a sigh and replied in a mocking tone, "King Golem has underestimated intruder," the king fuming as the fighter sent a Roundhouse into his lower body just slightly above his hands, the energy actually managing to put a big cut through him like a chainsaw cutting through a tree, the king's eyes going wide as he was unable to keep himself up, falling on his back as Joe proceeded to leap into the air, aiming a fierce Sky Kick hard into his face, smashing it open as King Golem's hands rose up in pain for a few seconds, the hands soon falling apart.

"Some all-powerful king," Joe said with a look of disappointment as the whole pillar soon fell apart into many fragments, the dark aura coming up from his remains before vanishing for good.

With that, Joe saw a mirror with a vortex in the glass, the boy just about to enter it when the golem siblings entered the room, Granite saying, "Wait," Joe turning as both bowed their heads in respect, Kimberlite saying, "Thank you so much, Knuckle Joe. I didn't think we could live without the king before, but now, there might be hope for us after all," Joe smirking and rubbing his finger against his invisible nose once more, replying, "If you guys wanted a ruler so much, I suggest both of you take that spot."

With that, he entered the mirror as Granite and Kimberlite looked at one-another. The two siblings smiled and nodded, giving each other a high five. Perhaps Joe was right. Maybe they were more fit for the job.

And that brings another story to a close. With that out of the way, it is time to check up on Sirica and see what transpired with her during this time.

Sirica looked onward from the island she stood on at all the ocean surrounding her, the soldier taking a deep breath. It was plain to see that if she was to get anywhere, she'd have to search the ocean. Sure, it was likely dangerous, but Sirica was a tough girl. She was certain she could handle it.

However, what worried her the most was that she might have very well had to spend a long time underwater if she was to find the exit. The soldier shook her head and remembered back to her past when she used to take swimming lessons at a very young age. She was the top swimmer in her area, able to hold her breath for a full half-hour.

Of course, that was before her mother, Garlude, died. After that, she was too busy seeking revenge on the demon beasts to practice swimming. Hopefully she still had the lungs for this sort of thing after all this time.

With that in mind, the warrior breathed in a huge amount of air before sealing her mouth shut, the girl diving into the water. She wasted no time looking around, swimming as fast as she could until she noticed a cavern located three and a half leagues down. This was good a place as any to start looking, but of course Sirica would have to be careful. After all, if she started to lose her breath who was to say there would be a way out?

With that in mind, the soldier entered the opening in the wall, fish wearing goggles known as Blippers watching her go by. One of the fish swam over and took off its goggles, offering them to the young woman as she stared with wide-eyes before bowing her head in respect, gladly accepting the goggles and strapping them to her face. Now the water wouldn't get in her eyes, which was good because trying to tolerate the feeling was rather difficult.

While carrying on, Sirica was too focused on the path ahead of her to notice various sea anemones with eyes hanging from the walls and ceiling. These creatures were known the Glunk and they would always take any measures possible to protect themselves. This was made clear when they all turned their eyes toward Sirica, shooting gusts of water towards her, the girl fuming and dodging each one, pulling out her sword and changing it to the flamethrower setting.

However, when the girl opened fire, the only thing that came out was a bit of steam, the girl slapping her forehead before taking in a bit of fast water to her face, doing her best to regain focus. Of course, she was underwater, how could a flame possibly work down here?

Either way, to fight these creatures would surely be a waste of time, so she simply proceeded forward, dodging the Glunk's incoming attacks. After all, she had to find a way out as soon as possible.

Luckily, she soon found herself in a clearing when she noticed a school of Blippers swimming by. However, her eyes went wide when a huge shark sped into the area, spinning his tail fin like a boat motor and zooming right into the fish with his mouth open, swallowing them all in seconds. For whatever reason, this big blue shark was wearing a life preserver around his waist.

However, Sirica didn't have time to question this as the creature turned to face her, a big grin forming on his face as he stared at her with hungry eyes. In all his years, he had never seen such a huge creature in the ocean.

Sirica fumed, thinking, 'Whatever, it's just a shark,' pulling out her sword and remembering she couldn't use any of her firearms. However, when the shark charged at her, Sirica panicked as the beast was moving too fast for her to avoid him, the girl swimming to the side at barely the fight time to avoid being eaten.

'Okay, clearly I need to be careful,' she thought as she remembered how quickly she needed to leave this ocean, the girl shaking her head and trying to swim forward away from the shark. Unfortunately, the shark quickly turned around and sped at her again, opening his jaws wide, Sirica unable to avoid him.

However, Sirica was no weakling, so when the shark attempted to close its jaws down on her, Sirica used her blade to prop the top portion of his mouth up, using her feet to force the lower portion down. However, this ended up causing her a lot of pain as her feet were pressing up against his fangs, both of them now having holes in them as blood seeped from her, the shark smelling the wonderful aroma.

This caused his eyes to narrow, the shark now sporting the look of a true killer as he tried even harder to close his mouth, Sirica realizing she couldn't keep this up any longer as she leaned back a bit before flinging herself forward, barely escaping from the shark's mouth in time as he crunched his razor sharp jaws together. Seeing that his dinner had escaped, the shark let out a loud roar before speeding toward her again, Sirica focusing hard before sending a slash forward, actually managing to strike the shark's face as a small cut formed, blood coming out as he roared in pain, Sirica taking this chance to swim toward what looked like an exit. Maybe this would lead to more wide-open ocean thus giving her a chance to resurface and breathe.

However, the shark soon shook off the pain before letting out a loud roar, three robotic-looking red shark heads coming out and speeding toward the girl. Sirica panicked before holding out her blade, blocking an incoming head's fin, which was in the form of a small dagger head, the other two flying sideways into her, cutting open her hips as she tried her best not to cry out in pain knowing it would involve her opening her mouth.

As if that wasn't bad enough, she could actually feel herself starting to run out of breath, but why? She'd only been under for ten minutes and she already felt like she was going to drown. The lack of experience must have taken a bigger toll on her than she first thought.

That was it. She had to escape at all cost, and with that shark speeding toward her again, she didn't know how much longer she had. But first things first, if she wanted to stand a chance, she would have to take care of these annoying robots. As such, she jammed her blade into the one she's stopped prior to the strike, hurling the head fin-first into the shark, the shark once again roaring in pain while Sirica sped passed the other two, slicing them in half as they exploded.

With that, the soldier was just about the reach the top, her eyes going wide as she felt like she was just about to suffocate, the girl actually slowing down her ascent. To make matters worse, the shark was closing in on her as she looked down, using her last ounce of strength to push herself to the side, holding her blade out so the shark's body was scrape up against it, a big cut now forming on his belly as he once again roared out in pain.

Unfortunately, Sirica had used all she had to pull this off as she started to descend. But just as she was about to suffocate, she soon felt herself being lifted up. It seemed another school of Blippers and squids known as Squishies had entered the area and were pushing her up toward the surface, all of them using all their might to force her up onto a beach, Sirica now on an island.

Sirica slowly opened her eyes and looked out at the creatures waving happily at her as she smiled, but the happy moment was soon rudely interrupted by the shark, the creature's fin reaching the water surface. It seemed Sirica hadn't quite managed to kill the beast yet.

Luckily, the shark didn't seem the least bit interested in the Blippers or Squishies as they easily made their escape without much hassle. The shark was hellbent on getting Sirica as she sighed, "I know you can't get me here, but I can't have someone like you terrorizing this ocean and killing all those innocent creatures," pulling out her weapon and unleashing a missile, hitting the shark hard in the back.

However, it seemed her ability to use firearms again didn't help that much as the shark ignored it. The girl then tried the flamethrower but that had even less of an effect for obvious reasons. With this in mind, Sirica realized she had no choice but to face him with her sword, but that meant getting close to him and facing him in the water.

Well, at the very least she had finally caught her breath, so perhaps she could at least last another ten minutes down there tops. As such, she pursed her lips once again, diving into the water as the shark followed her downward. Sirica had seen the shark in action and now felt confident. Surely he couldn't take any more blood loss than what he'd already taken in.

As the shark honed in on the girl, she swam quickly over his head and held her blade down, the shark's skin once again scraping up against it, the shark roaring in pain. However, this still hadn't been quite enough to stop him, Sirica frowning and looking up. Her eyes then went wide as she got a brilliant idea.

Maybe if she could get him to follow her to the surface, she could get him to carelessly jump out of the water and onto the beach. That would cause the shark to lose his breath thus ending him for good. Still, this was certainly a risky move, but the shark did seem too fast to have complete control over when he stopped.

With that in mind, Sirica quickly swam toward the shore before the shark could recover completely. Once the beast got over his pain, he quickly sped up toward her. Sirica had a serious look in her eyes, truly determined to out-swim the beast.

Sirica drew ever closer to the land by the second, moving her arms and feet as quickly as she could. But just as she was about to touch dry land, she felt something pulling her down, her eyes wide with terror as she looked down, not believing what she saw. The shark had her feet right in his mouth and nibbling on it, a big grin on his face as he started to pull her down.

Sirica couldn't believe it. Was this really the end? Was this how she was truly going to die, as a shark's meal? Where was the honour in that.

Well, one thing was for certain, Sirica was not the kind to let herself die without truly giving it her all. As such, the star soldier put on a serious look, holding her blade up above the shark's head. The shark's eyes went wide right before her blade was rammed right into his forehead, blood spewing out as the shark's eyes started to roll to the back of his head. However, like Sirica, this shark wasn't completely ready to give up as he used his last ounce of strength to close his jaws on the girl's feet, slicing them off of her torso and swallowing them whole.

Sirica winced, opening her mouth to let out a light cry before sealing her mouth shut again, moving her arms quickly as she returned to the surface, breathing heavily while slowly crawling onto the beach. She looked down at the spot where her feet once were, blood pouring down and biting her lip, light tears rolling down her cheeks.

Ever since her mother's death, Sirica had made a vow never to cry again. However, now was hardly the time for her to have such thoughts as she let down a waterfall of tears, crying as loud as she could. She'd forgotten what it was like to let her sadness out. On one hand, the situation was certainly unfortunate enough for this to be necessary, but at the same time it felt good letting out all these bottled up tears. However, it wasn't just the loss of her ability to walk that got her down. She also felt that this would make her useless in battle from this moment on. After all, without the ability to run and jump away from her opponents, how could she outsmart them?

After a while, her crying diminished into lights sobs as the Blippers and Squishies from earlier rose up, one Squishy walking onto the beach and patting her on the shoulder, Sirica sniffing and forcing a smile. Sure, she'd lost her feet, but she'd also managed to save all the innocent sea creatures, not to mention she was still alive. At the very least, she was lucky to still have her life and her health.

With that in mind, the Squishy the pointed behind her at a mirror located on this island, Sirica smiling and thanking, "Thank you for everything," slowly crawling toward the portal and entering it. Now was not the time to let circumstances get her down. She had to return to her friends and her home.

And with five stories now out of the way, that leaves us with Metaknight's journey. Just what had happened to him while the others were facing their own dangers and meeting new friends?


	27. Chapter 27

Metaknight looked around, confused by his surroundings. As the knight walked down the path he couldn't shake this feeling that Nightmare was behind all of this. But why? He was there when that very demon died. How could he be behind this?

While carrying on, Metaknight looked up and noticed a sign floating by being carried by what looked like a UFO with eyes, the sign reading 'Welcome to Candy Constellation'. The knight blinked as he looked around noticing that UFOs seemed to be very high in number. All of them simply floated by, minding their own business.

However, this was all about to change when one of the small flying creatures drifted over toward another, a metal hand coming out of the base under it and holding a sheet of paper. The other UFO took the paper and looked at its contents, seeing it was a wanted poster. To make matters worse, Metaknight was on the cover.

The two communicated through a strange language that involved making a lot of electronic beeping noises, but one thing was for certain. Neither one of them seemed to figure out that the small blue Kirby walking around was the very Star Soldier they were looking for. After all, the Metaknight in the photo was still wearing his old mask while the Metaknight walking along the path had disposed of it.

If anything, it seemed getting rid of the mask was the best choice the knight had ever made. As such, he easily pressed on without any trouble rearing its head. After all, this place was crawling with UFOs. Who was to say getting through all of them would be easy?

Metaknight walked over to the first fork in the road. Which way would lead him to an exit? There was one path leading East, one leading West and one leading North. He would have asked one of the UFOs but asking about a portal to another world might be considered suspicious.

However, while he looked, one UFO arrived with another poster, this one apparently an updated version of the one just handed out. This one pointed out that Metaknight no longer had his mask, letting the flying saucers know exactly what he looked like.

One of the UFOs who had received the poster turned and noticed Metaknight still trying to decide which road to take, its eyes widening before a small white object made of glass rose up from its head. With that, the object lit up, the UFO making a loud high-pitched noise, the others saucers turning toward it before noticing the knight as well, all of them narrowing their eyes.

With that, small gun barrels pointed out of holes that formed on their front sections, Metaknight looking up and seeing this, his eyes going wide as the UFOs opened fire, the knight realizing he no longer had enough time to think about his next course, fleeing to the right. While running through this area, he noticed a door in the middle of the road with a white light coming from it, the knight letting out a sigh hoping this would be the right way.

With that, he ran along the path only for a few UFOs to get in his path, the knight whipping out his blade and spinning at them like a twister, blasting through them and slicing open quite a few thus causing them to blow up.

He certainly didn't have much time to think about any more strategies as one UFO fired at him, the knight blocking the beam with his sword, more shooting at him as he ran away from them. Normally Metaknight would have stayed and fought, but he was just one man and this was a whole army. Either way, things seemed fine when Metaknight finally got through the door, said door vanishing as a timer appeared over it reading 'Door closed for ten minutes'.

Rather than waiting, the saucers simply left and went back to their own business. They knew just how far the knight could easily get within ten minutes but they also seemed to know something about that particular entrance.

Metaknight let out a sigh before noticing he was actually inside of something now. It looked like the interior of a spaceship, and this assumption couldn't have been farther from the truth as he looked outside a window on the wall, the structure he was in actually flying slowly through space. Hopefully there would be a portal out of this place otherwise he would likely end flying away from his destination.

The strangest thing about this place, though, was that there was a particular figure piloting this vessel. In the cockpit stood a knight, but not just any knight. This being looked exactly like Metaknight only he was wearing an exact replica of the old mask and didn't wear a cape. This must have been the mirror version of Metaknight.

At that moment, a flying golden sphere entered the cockpit through a sliding door, the knight turning and asking, "What do you want, Guardian?" the sphere opening up to reveal what looked like an alarm clock with a big eye in the middle before replying, "Sir, I got a sighting of an intruder on one of the spy cameras," the knight glancing at him and saying, "Why do you need to tell me that? Just dispose of whoever it is," Guardian blinking and replying, "Well, sir, I felt you needed to know because... um..."

The robot's eye shifted around as the fake Metaknight pinched his forehead grunting, "You know how much I hate that. Why can't you be like laser balls and not stutter?" Guardian's eye going wide as he said, "Sorry... anyway, it's just that this intruder has the same body as you, sir."

The Knight stood silent for a while before chuckling wickedly under his breath, soon letting out a laugh before saying, "Oh, Master Drake is going to be so pleased when we capture the real Metaknight on our very ship!" Guardian remarking, "Wait, you mean that intruder's your alternate counterpart the master brought here?" the fake Metaknight sighing, "Thank you for the obvious exposition, but yes. See to it that he is destroyed immediately."

Guardian nodded and said, "Yes sir," exiting the cockpit as the fake let out another chuckle, pulling out his own golden blade, which was more like the one Spencer used. After all, making a duplicate of something ultra rare like Galaxia was no easy task. While holding the sword up in front of his face and sliding his hands delicately up it, the knight grinned under his mask and said, "If he's as good as they say he is, he should make it to this room easily."

As it just so happened, the fake Metaknight really didn't expect Guardian or his soldiers to take down his real counterpart. He was merely using them as test subjects while planning to face Metaknight all along. Either way, this was certainly bad news.

Metaknight slowly exited the room he'd appeared in, noticing many brown shining spheres patrolling the area. These were Guardian's laser ball soldiers. Either way, they were a lot smaller in number than the UFOs, so Metaknight figured they would be easy to get through.

But just as the knight was about to make his move, a hidden camera honed in on him before letting loose a loud alarm through the area, Metaknight's eyes wide with shock as the flying orbs turned around, spotting him before glowing. Soon, lasers shot from their bodies, and these were twice as fast as the beams from the UFOs, so Metaknight really had to keep his footing in order to dodge them.

The soldier frowned before leaping over an incoming beaming, slicing the one who had fired down the middle, causing the ball to split in half before blowing up. The knight then struck down another only to barely avoid being shot from behind. With that, the knight narrowed his eyelids before noticing one laser ball right behind him, the warrior flipping backwards and landing on the machine's back, aiming it at its comrades as it instinctively fired its laser at them, causing them all to blow up.

With only one left, Metaknight held up his blade and rammed it through the ball he had latched onto, pulling the sword out and leaping away just in time to avoid an explosion, the ball falling to the ground in many tiny pieces. The star soldier took a deep breath, knowing he'd have more to face ahead as he made his way down the hall.

While walking, Metaknight took a deep breath, hoping the others were okay. After all, if he managed to escape from his world he didn't want to be the only one. And what if there wasn't a way to leave this world? Was he doomed to be stuck in this Candy Constellation until one of the machines living here killed him?

Before he could think about this further, he noticed a door next to him, the label over it stating this was the docking bay. This meant there were smaller spaceships inside. Perhaps if he needed to escape he could use this room. He figured he may as well figure out what this place had to offer before proceeding forward.

As he opened the door, he noticed the room was filled to the brim with many different space vehicles but there was one that looked rather out of place. In the middle of the docking bay was a big green airplane. Not only was it weird seeing an airplane on a space vessel but it looked as if it was wearing brown shoes at the back, had an actual scarf around it near the front and even had a giant pilot helmet on top of it.

The reason was soon made clear as the part below the nose opened up like a mouth, letting out a loud yawn. Metaknight's eyes went wider every second, his mouth hanging open as two eyes appeared on the plane's face, blinking a couple of times until its wings bent forward, rubbing them.

The plane soon shook its head, tapping the side of it before noticing Metaknight standing there, a smile forming on his face as he said, "Howdy," waving his wing as the knight stared, slowly raising his arm and waving, his face still in shock. There was the possibility this was just another robot, but the way his eyes looked and his mouth moved was more like that of someone who had actually been born instead of built.

"So, are ya new around here?" the plane asked, "Name's Aero, Aero Star, airplane extraordinaire!" the plane pushing himself off the floor with his feet and flying around the area like a professional. Despite having a motor running, he still felt the strange need to make airplane noises with his mouth, Metaknight sighing with relief. Seemed as if this guy wasn't going to be a major threat.

Aero stopped and pointed at the knight saying, "Hey, you look kinda like our captain only you don't have a metal attachment to your face," Metaknight's eyes going wide as he asked, "What is your captain's name?" Aero blinking before sticking his tongue out, having it touch his nose while tapping his forehead before saying, "I believe it was Metaknight."

The star soldier's eyes went wide with shock as Aero said, "Say, I don't believe I've heard your name," Metaknight nodding before replying, "My name is... um..." thinking hard about a fake name, not wanting the plane to think he was the evil clone before snapping his fingers and saying, "That's right, my name is Kirby."

Sure, that may have been the name of his species, but it sounded enough like something you could call someone. Luckily, this certainly worked as Aero held out his wing, shaking his hand and saying, "Very nice to meet you Mister Kirby sir," Metaknight smiling lightly before asking, "If it's not any trouble, could you take me to see your captain? I... uh... want to apply for guard duty here."

Rather than agreeing right off the bat, Aero instead laughed out loud before saying, "Sorry, but you have the most unfitting voice of anyone I've ever met!" the knight replying, "I beg your pardon..." Aero adding, "Well, it's just... your face... it's so cute... and you have this deep, strong, manly voice. I mean, I know it's not your fault and anyone who picks on you for it is a total dick-cheese, but come on, it's just so weird.! I like you!"

Metaknight let down a nervous sweat drop, faking laughter. The sad fact was he actually kind of agreed with what the airplane said. After all, his cute exterior was the whole reason he had hidden his face up until a week ago.

Aero then calmed down before saying, "Anyway, you wanted to see the commander, right? Well, you're a nice guy, so sure, it'll be great having you as our first non-robot on the force, well, unless you want to count a cyborg, aka, me."

So Aero was only part machine. That explained a lot. After all, how many pure robots had movement that fluid?

"So you'll take me to him?" Metaknight asked as Aero sighed, "No can do, Kirb, my man. Unfortunately, my job is to guard all of these here flying machines, therefore I am not allowed to move from this spot. It's okay because due to me being 87 percent machine, I only need food once a month, but it also means I can't move around very much, but I can tell you where he is."

The knight let out a disappointed sigh before smiling, figuring directions were better than anything as the plane added, "Just follow the hallway due North until you reach a door at the very end with a small staircase leading up to it. That's the cockpit and the captain spends most of his time there so the odds of him not being there are slim to none and if he isn't he should return soon."

The knight nodded, wanting so desperately to free this Aero from having to take commands from a villain before saying, "Thank you," the plane adding, "Also, I'm not supposed to say this, but you're the only decent conversation I've ever had here. In that room is a mirror with a portal in it. They say it leads to some big room of mirrors that links to every single location in this universe. So if you ever feel like going on vacation, just use that," the knight smiling and giving an army salute before taking his leave, Aero waving at him with a big grin on his face.

With that, Metaknight headed down the hall thinking, 'I feel bad tricking him like this, but I couldn't tell him the truth. He probably wouldn't have believed me anyway,' the knight striking down every laser ball that came his way before coming face-to-face with a large floating golden sphere with an eyeball in the middle.

"Let me guess, you're the leader of these balls?" Metaknight asked as Guardian replied, "Hey, you're pretty smart for a non-machine, but smarts can only take you so far," the robot opening himself up before charging up a huge beam, firing it at Metaknight who easily dodged it, flipping over as Guardian's eyes widened with shock, the knight sending his sword down the robot's middle as he fell to the ground, looking like he was about to split open as Metaknight carried on.

Seeing this, Guardian scowled and barked, "Hey, aren't you gonna finish what you started!?" Metaknight sighing, "I'm not here for you, and besides, would you rather die today or live to fight another day?" Guardian staring in shock and a bit of admiration while Metaknight walked down the hall.

Just what was up with the knight? Before, he would have quickly killed someone like Guardian in a second and felt satisfied whether the enemy be forced into helping evil or not, but something about this particular machine just made him seem worth sparing.

Soon enough, Metaknight reached the cockpit, entering it as his clone turned to face him, grinning wickedly under his mask before saying, "So, you finally arrived, the very soldier I was modelled from."

"Tell me, who created you?" the knight asked, pulling out his own sword as his clone replying, "Right to the point, I see. Well, if you must know, I was created by the one you call Nightmare."

Metaknight's eyes went wide as he said, "No... but... I killed him..." his clone chuckling before replying, "You only saw him still on the planet when it started to collapse, but no, he did not die that day. He simply escaped to this world, and before that battle, he had already become the ruler of this very universe."

Metaknight started to twitch while the clone added, "Also, as I'm sure you've already guessed, he was the one who brought you into this world, but he didn't do it alone. He actually got some other Kirbies to help him, Kirbies like you," the knight fuming, a dark aura surrounding him as he grumbled, "You're lying..." the clone laughing before taunting, "Keep telling yourself that, Metaknight, but you can't hide from the truth forever."

With that, Metaknight charged at his clone, both of them locking blades until the copy managed to overpower the real knight, knocking him back before rushing at him, sending his blade downward only for the soldier to dodge at the last second. The clone then proceeded to swing his blade sideways, summoning a twister only for the real Metaknight to do the same, both tornadoes colliding with each other before vanishing.

"You really are as skilled as they say," the clone replied, "You are truly a worthy opponent," the real one scowling, not wanting to hear compliments from an enemy, the clone adding, "You know, Metaknight, you could do great things. You may be a hero to the people of your world, but you haven't exactly been the most successful you can be. After all, you've lost multiple friends over the past and even failed to avenge a couple of them," Metaknight fuming before barking, "WHO CARES!? SO I'M NOT PERFECT! NO ONE IN THIS WORLD IS!"

"Oh, but you could be..." the clone replied with a light chuckle, "Yes, Nightmare truly sees potential in you," Metaknight fuming before rushing at the copy, both clashing swords again as the real knight wasn't letting up, slashing at the fake every second while the copy added, "Did you know that you were actually born to serve evil?"

Metaknight's eyes went wide as the fake took advantage of this, elbowing him in the gut and sending him rolling back adding, "It's true. In fact, you don't even have actual parents," Metaknight's eyes going wide as he said, "Stop lying to me..." the fake sighing, "You keep telling yourself I'm lying but in reality, you know I'm telling you the truth and can't accept it."

"Well, then, how did I come into existence if I didn't have parents!?" the knight retorted as the fake replied, "Simple, you were brought into this world the same way I and all of the oldest Kirbies in existence were. Haven't you ever wondered why you were among the first of your kind to exist on Dark Star?"

The knight wanted so much to keep fighting but this genuinely interested him as he said, "Wait, I was one of the first?" the clone replying, "Why, yes. Your kind only came into existence 50 years ago," Metaknight's eyes going wide, the man asking, "How can that be?"

The clone chuckled and replied, "Well, it's quite simple. You see, we Kirbies are demon beasts!" Metaknight staring in absolute shock. No, it couldn't be true. This had to have been a lie of some kind. But if they were all demon beasts, this meant that Nightmare himself had created the Kirby race, but why? Why would he created the very creatures that posed the highest threat to his other creations... unless that was not his original intention behind it.

"That's right, Metaknight," the clone added, "You were made for the soul purpose of serving evil! You and every other Kirby in existence were made for the soul purpose of helping our master succeed!" the knight breathing heavily, the clone adding, "If you side with evil, you'll unlock your true potential, no longer holding back the power inside of you. In fact, you were made to lead the Kirbies, to be the strongest one in existence. When he created you, Nightmare gave you some of his power, the power of a demon!"

Metaknight's eyes went wide as he said, "So... that's why I can turn my cape into bat wings... and become a dragon..." the clone nodding and replying, "Now that you get it. You always believed that one of your parents was a vampire, but vampires don't exist. I may as well tell you our master's real name. Here he goes under the alias Drake to trick the citizens into thinking he's good, but his real name is Dark Matter!"

Metaknight let out a loud cry before having parts of his cape form into flies, flying off as his cape took on the form of bat wings, the knight saying, "Alright, so I was made for evil. It's a shame we Kirbies ended up with our own free will unlike every other demon beast! We are as much a part of the good society as anyone else and while I may have the powers of a demon, I'd much rather use them for good than evil!"

The clone's eyes went wide with shock as Metaknight flew at him, the clone attempting to block him with his sword only for the real soldier to dodge him taunting, "Dark Matter should have given you demonic powers too," slashing at him as the clone barely dodged, his left shoulder taking in a strike as the metal shoulder pad was sliced in half, black smoke coming from a cut formed on his flesh.

"You're making a mistake!" the clone retorted, lighting up his sword as Metaknight's lit up as well, both swinging their blades as the real knight remarked, "I don't care! I prefer to lead my own life!" a sword beam streaking out of each blade, both beams colliding as ultimately, the real Metaknight's prevailed, going straight through the clone, the fake using his last ounce of strength to hurl his sword over Metaknight's head, the real knight sighing, "That was a waste of effort."

The clone simply smirked and said, "You should have chosen evil..." his body soon vanishing in a puff of smoke as Metaknight heard the sound of glass shattering, turning around and breathing heavily, noticing the mirror out of Candy Constellation had been smashed by the clone's sword.

However, right now the knight wondered if maybe him being trapped was for the best, especially if he had truly been meant for such an evil purpose. With this in mind, he knelt down and slammed his fist against the floor, breathing heavily, a look of anger and sadness on his face.

He wanted to think all he had heard was a lie, but he couldn't deny it. In its own strange way, it all made sense. After all, the Kirby race had just suddenly appeared one day. They were among the first of many species to exist when Dark Star was formed. They didn't know where the first Kirbies in existence came from, so who was to say a being of great power didn't make them?

However, the knight also believed those last words he had spoken, and taking that into account gave him the strength to rise back up. The Kirbies had managed to be the only demon beasts to develop minds of their own and not live with the mindset that they should destroy anything and everything good in the world. With that in mind, the knight took a deep breath, figuring he might be able to find another way out if he looked hard enough.

As he walked down the hall, he noticed it was strangely empty before entering the docking bay. After all, Aero was his the closest thing to a friend he'd made on this ship. Perhaps he could help.

When he entered, he noticed a fully repaired Guardian in the room in front of Aero, his eyes going wide as Aero looked up at him, his own eyes wide as well. Had Guardian told the plane of Metaknight's secret.

"Hey there, Kirby," Aero said, moving the tips of his wings down and up as if to imply quotation marks when saying 'Kirby', the plane adding, "Or should I just call you the real Metaknight?"

The knight trembled and said, "Wait, I can explain..." the Guardian replying, "Don't bother. I told him everything," Aero nodding with a smile and replying, "I knew you were a great guy, but I never realized just how great you were!"

"Wait, what?" the knight replied, blinking as the plane replied, "Guardian told me how you spared his life and how your mission here was to defeat the evil imposter tricking us into serving our villainous leader, Drake!" Metaknight asking, "You mean you knew about all of that?" Guardian sighing, "Yeah. I was afraid if I went against his wishes and let it be known that Drake was nothing more than a liar to all the citizens here, your clone would have me dismantled," before adding, "I take it by your presence here that you beat him."

Metaknight nodded before sighing, "Yeah, but he also destroyed the mirror at the same time," Aero nodding in understanding before replying, "That's okay. Luckily for you, there is another mirror out of this world, but it leads to another one. We're not sure where it goes, but there should be another mirror leading to the center of the universe within."

Metaknight bowed his head and replied, "That's good to hear," Aero then taking off his helmet to reveal a passenger seat atop his head saying, "Hop in. I'll take you right to it."

With that, the knight was on his way. He wouldn't stop until he could see his friends again. So what if he was made to be evil? He was a hero in his own mind and that was good enough.


	28. Chapter 28

While flying through space towards a small moon in the distance, Aero noticed many dark spirits that resembled black spheres each with one eyeball forming in the air. The plane narrowed his eyelids and said, "Careful, there, buddy, these are Dark Matter spawns," Metaknight asking, "So... you know about Dark Matter's creations but you didn't know until now who Dark Matter was?" Aero letting down a nervous sweat drop before focusing on the enemies ahead saying, "Luckily for us, though, they're weak and can be destroyed easily."

With that in mind, Aero Star opened up a hatch representing his belly, a gun of sorts coming out before firing a barrage of missiles, hitting the spawns hard and causing them to vaporize. The plane then noticed some coming from below before retracting the missile launcher and dropping a big bomb down on them. Metaknight smiled with confidence, trying his best not to think about what his clone had told him. What mattered was escaping from this mirror world and reuniting with his friends.

This was the moment where everyone else had escaped from the worlds they had been stuck in for the last while. Joe was the first to exit as his work took the shortest to complete, the boy's eyes going wide when he noticed he was in a world made up of nothing but clouds. In this area were all of the other mirrors representing the worlds the others had gone to, except one of them was smashed. This was of course the mirror connected to the one evil Metaknight had destroyed.

The boy's train of thought was soon interrupted when Flint escaped from his own mirror, his eyes going wide as he exclaimed, "Hey, Master, I found you!" Joe laughing before replying, "Can't say I'm surprised you'd be the first among the others to bust your way through danger," Fumu soon following, a ball of fire circling her body to help warm her up after she had spent nearly ten minutes in the frozen tundra wearing nothing but a now-tattered and ripped dress.

Seeing the princess, Flint's eyes went wide, a big smile forming on his face as Fumu turned to face him, the girl putting out her ball of flame and letting down a tear of joy, sniffing before wiping her tear and running toward the Fighter Kirby. Joe grinned with pride for his student as the Kirby and princess embraced one-another, Fumu spinning with Flint in her arms, Flint's face turning beet red for whatever reason.

However, he then looked up and asked, "What happened to your wonderful dress?" Fumu sighing, "Let's just say some moron had no consideration for high class," remembering that she was the only one in the kingdom who knew that Wiz was evil.

At that moment, Sirica crawled out of her own mirror before noticing the others, a light smile on her face as she said, "Hey, fancy finding you guys here," the others about to give her a warm welcome before noticing her lack of feet, all three of them freaking out as Joe ran over and spat, "WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU!?" Fumu clasping her hand over her mouth as Flint's jaw dropped.

Sirica let out a disappointed sigh and replied, "It's no big deal... some demon beast ate them..." Flint and Fumu in even more panic as Joe stared in admiration saying, "I must say, it takes some real backbone to treat that like a minor inconvenience," Sirica looking up at him and asking, "Really?"

Before anything more could be said, Melanie soon exited a mirror with two model trees next to it and smiled at the others, saying, "Hey guys!" Flint and Fumu then giving her a hug as Flint said, "Now our group is back together!"

After the hug, Melanie noticed Fumu's dress and blinked before sighing, "Look, Flint may not be the most refined person around, but I don't think you need to make yourself so revealing to get his attention," Flint letting down a sweat drop as Fumu giggled, saying, "Thanks, I needed a good laugh after what I've been through."

"Speaking of..." Melanie started, turning toward Sirica as her eyes went wide, her jaw dropped as Sirica laughed nervously, saying, "I wonder how many more of those I'm gonna get."

Flint then blinked and said, "Hold on, I got an idea," entering the mirror to the world he had just come from, the others staring hoping he would return soon. They would have followed him but Flint had left with a look in his eyes implying that he didn't need any assistance, and it was rare to see him this confident. He must have really known what he was doing.

After a couple of minutes, Flint returned with a pair of robotic legs saying, "It seems my new friends had a set of these lying around in their closet," the others staring in shock as the boy added, "Apparently, they can function when attached to human skin. Now let's see how this works," Fumu laughing nervously and saying, "I'll do it."

Sirica blinked, amazed that anyone would take time out of his life for her sake, Joe looking strangely concerned for her well-being. All the while, Fumu was using her magic to help connect the legs to the star soldier, the legs soon attached as Sirica wasn't even sure how to respond.

"Well, try them out," Joe suggested as Sirica nodded and moved one of the legs up and down, soon kicking the other outward, her eyes going wide as a grin formed on her face, the girl placing her hands firmly against the ground and pushing herself up, standing firmly on her new robot legs with a look of confidence.

"I'm sure this might take some getting used to, but..." Melanie said as Sirica grinned and remarked, "Are you kidding!? These legs make me taller!" the girl laughing with pride as if height actually mattered, the others staring before the soldier turned to Flint and Fumu saying, "Thanks, you're both life savers."

At that moment, the others then stared at Fumu, the princess blinking as Melanie asked, "How did you do that anyway?" Flint adding, "Also, what was with that fireball?" the princess nodding and replying, "I just learned that I can use magic," Flint's heart racing every moment as he embraced the princess and exclaimed, "My girlfriend is a mage! That's awesome!" Melanie tauntingly asking, "What, girl magicians can't be witches?" Flint glaring at the Hammer Kirby.

However, all went silent as everyone looked around, Melanie asking, "Hey, come to think of it, where's Metaknight or Spencer?" Joe shrugging and replying, "Probably not here yet," Fumu nodding and adding, "We should wait for them."

During this time, Spencer had woken up as Dark Matter noticed this, a grin forming over his face as he said, "So, you're finally awake, young Sword Kirby," Spencer groaning and rubbing his eyes before seeing the creature before him, his eyes going wide.

"Who are you?" he asked, trying to back up only to find he was floating in a bubble and was unable to move freely, the Sword Kirby looking around and shouting, "Hey, what am I doing in this thing!?" the dark being snapping his fingers as the energy bubble vanished, Spencer falling against the ground, grunting before getting up and saying, "Thanks I guess."

"No problem," the dark man replied, "It's not you can leave this world without my say-so anyway," Spencer blinking and asking, "What do you mean?" before noticing four particular elemental Kirbies lying unconscious in their own energy bubbles, the swordsman trembling and asking, "Who are they?"

"They're the ones who help me gain a link to your world," the man replied, "Allow me introduce myself..." Spencer pointing and shouting, "I know who you are now! I've seen your face in text books! You're Nightmare!"

At that moment, Dark Matter frowned, flames shooting from his ears as he gritted his teeth furiously, clasping his hands against the sides of his head shouting, "DON'T EVER CALL ME THAT! I AM SICK AND TIRED OF EVERYBODY CALLING ME THAT!"

Spencer stared in absolute confusion as the demon calmed down, taking a deep breath and replying, "Sorry, it's not your fault that everyone has spread that name around like a plague," Spencer simply shrugging his shoulders and replying, "Look, whatever you prefer to be called, you made a mistake bringing me here!" pulling out his sword and trembling, not even sure if he could take the demon before saying, "You should be dead."

"Ah, yes, that time everyone thought I had died," Dark Matter replied with a light chuckle, "Let me tell you a little story about my life and that should clear up everything," the sword Kirby blinking, asking, "Why should I?" Dark Matter sighing, "Because there is something you really need to hear."

The swordsman frowned before taking a deep breath, realizing he had no other options. Besides, if he could stall the conversation long enough there might be a chance for his friends to find him if possible.

"Contrary to popular belief," the demon explained, "I actually wasn't born on Dark Star. In fact, that planet didn't even exist when I was born," Spencer's eyes wide with shock as Dark Matter added, "No, I was born on the planet Earth."

Spencer's eyes widened with shock. He had heard of this planet before but knew very little about it. All he knew was that its citizens were known as humans and apparently looked nothing like he or anyone else had ever seen before.

Dark Matter was born in a city known as Daleberg, named after its founder Dale Smith. He lived in a small house as his family wasn't very rich. Despite this fact, they never let life get them down and had no problem having a child of their own. The day Dark Matter was born, his parents gave him the name Drake as he was strangely born with teeth like that of a dragon, but that wasn't the strangest thing about him.

For a reason that Drake himself didn't know, despite having perfectly normal parents, he was born with naturally grey skin. Over the years, his ears also grew to resemble those of an elf. As a result, everybody made fun of him, however, the one thing keeping him from going insane all those years was his parents.

Like most parents, they loved him no matter what and always told him that one day people would respect him. All he needed to do was find something he could do for mankind and show kindness toward others. It would be difficult, but if he kept this up, it would one day happen. That is what his parents had told him.

However, fifteen years had passed and Drake had not found the answer to his problems. People still made fun of him on a regular basis and to make matters worse, this was around the time he had hit puberty. Needless to say, the pain of knowing that no girl would ever want to go out with him ate away at him. In fact, when he entered Junior high school, he had started to question whether or not being nice to others was really worth it. He did plenty of nice things over the years and still no one wanted anything to do with a deformed freak of nature like him.

He had done all sorts of things, too. When a girl in grade ten had her doll broken, he went to the trouble to bringing it home and having his parents fix it. When he gave it to the girl, she simply took it from him and mouthed him off, telling him never to wrap his 'dirty' fingers around it again. There were many occasions where kids would get hurt or picked on and Drake would try coming to their aid, but every time he was rejected, all of them scared that he would only cause them more pain with his razor sharp finger nails that never got shorter not matter how often he cut them.

However, the day things took a turn for the worse was on his birthday, but it started out looking rather positive. See, during the year following this very day, Drake had devoted a lot of his spare time to working on something that he figured everybody would love, a robotic pet. Those were very popular there and he figured if he could make something like this bigger and more like an actual animal that would never die or get sick, people would love him.

Just as he was about to put the finishing touches on his first model, a robot dog, he noticed a strange dark aura coming from his hand. His eyes went wide with shock as the power surrounded the robotic pet, eyes forming on its clear pink visors representing pupils, the dog sticking out its robot tongue and making an actual panting sound, its skinny metal tail wagging back and forth. Drake's eyes were wide with shock as a grin soon formed on his face, the boy picking up the dog and hugging it as if it were actually the real thing, kissing it. This dog would be his key to finally earning himself respect as he was planning to show this as his project for his next Science class.

First he would need to put it safely in his backpack without it struggling so he could surprise everyone. With that in mind, Drake flicked its on switch into the off position, but because he somehow used magic to bring the machine to life, it didn't power down. As such, he simply told it not to move. For whatever reason, this robot dog was more loyal than he had anticipated especially since he had made it to think more like an actual dog, and even the most obedient of dogs weren't this easy to control.

But while Drake left for school to show off his creation, he ended up leaving behind a trail of dark energy as soon, small creatures started to form, spawns of his dark power. Something worth note was that humans did not have the same kind of power that every other creature in the galaxy had. The best you could ever get naturally from them was high physical strength. Humans couldn't use energy attacks, ninjas weren't quite as skilled as Ninja Kirbies and barely anyone during this time period used swords for combat anymore. The best they had were guns, and who was to say those would be useful against these demonic creatures?

After forming, the spawns headed up the stairs before entering the kitchen where Drake's parents were sitting down for breakfast. The two of them turned to face them and panicked, frightened out of their minds as ten spawns formed together to creature the first ever Wolfwrath. Unfortunately, the only weapon the two had was a rifle used by Drake's grandfather back in his war days and that didn't work anymore.

As such, the two were unable to fight back as the canine lunged at them, Drake's father standing in its way only to be pinned to the ground, the wolf using its claws to rip open his flesh. The wolf then proceeded to take out his innards, devouring them as seven spawns came together to create the first Buggzy. Without a moment's hesitation, the beetle picked up Drake's mother by her midsection, the woman screaming in terror before being sliced in half.

At that moment, the demon beast broke through the door and the wall surrounding it, letting out a loud roars before storming off toward the school. Needless to say, the citizens in the area were frightened out of their minds, all trying to flee for their lives as the twenty spawns came together to create Kirisakin himself.

During this time, Drake was waiting eagerly in class to show off his robot dog. He just knew everyone was going to love it. But just as his name was called up, everyone in class heard screaming from outside, the sound of missiles going off. This was because the demon beasts were right outside of the school with the military coming at them.

As the students and teacher all stared out the window in absolute shock, Drake noticed more of his dark power coming from him and forming more spawns. All of them combined together to create even more of these demons beasts, this time forming small ones as to cover more ground as it seemed each small demon beast only required one or two spawns.

Drake stared at this in absolute horror as suddenly, his dog jumped out of his backpack with a look of evil in its eyes, everyone staring in horror, Drake trying to explain that he had no idea what was happening. Needless to say, nobody believed him but they didn't have time to get after him as they ran from the classroom, the demon beasts starting to follow them only to Drake to fume, more darkness coming from him.

"STOP!" he barked, the creatures all halting their attacks as one of them let out a low growling sound, Drake somehow understanding this as he remarked, "I don't care if you're looking out for me! You just lost me my chance at finally being accepted!"

Looking out the window and seeing the military taken down despite there only being three demon beasts, Drake's eyes went wide. He then looked at the darkness coming from his hands and said, "I think I get it now... the reason I was born like this..." then taking a deep breath, he grinned, a maniacal look in his eyes as he exclaimed, "Yeah! It all makes sense! It's my destiny to never get along with these people! I was created to destroy them!"

With that in mind, he laughed wickedly as the three bigger demons broke through the wall, bowing their heads. Drake grinned and said, "Yes, you will all be my followers, my pets," the robot dog consuming more darkness as it, being a robot, expanding in size and becoming the walking suit of armour known as Masher.

At that moment, the Buggzy handed Drake the material that made up the clothing of the boy's dead parents. His eyes went wide when he saw this, knowing that his creations had done this unspeakable act. However, rather than feeling fury, he simply frowned and used them to create a cloak for himself while grumbling in a mocking tone, "They'll respect me as long I show kindness and find something I can do for mankind!" before growling, "Yeah right! You lied to me!"

At that moment, a government official brought out a megaphone and barked, "HEY, KID, ARE YOU OKAY!?" Drake turning as everyone gasped, seeing the demon beasts staying by his side while Drake smirked and replied, "Just peachy!" snapping his fingers as the demon beasts all lunged at the people, Drake shouting in a booming voice, "LET IT BE KNOWN THAT I AM NO LONGER THE PUNCHING BAG YOU CALL DRAKE! FROM THIS DAY FORTH, I SHALL BE REFERRED TO AS DARK MATTER!"

Spencer blinked and asked, "So... you didn't even show remorse for the death of your parents!?" Dark Matter retorting, "WHY SHOULD I!? THEY ALWAYS PRETENDED TO CARE FOR ME BUT THEY NEVER TRULY HELPED ME WITH MY PROBLEMS!" Spencer remarking, "Ever think maybe that was beyond their abilities!?" the demon sighing, "That's nothing but a cop-out and you know it. Now shut up and let me finish," Spencer scowling before nodding his head.

Soon enough everyone was overcome by the demon beasts, all of them slaughtering every citizen in Daleberg and destroying the entire city, leaving nothing but rubble. However, Drake knew that with so many people in the world who could possibly stop him he would need a place where he could plot in secret. Better yet, why not let his name be known throughout the universe, take out a few other planets before going after the rest of Earth?

Luck soon struck him when he discovered a mirror left behind from the destroyed museum, this mirror containing a powerful vortex as he soon found himself in the Mirror World. No one had a god of leader to look up to, so he immediately let his name be known there, but used the name his parents gave him so they would trust him. There he created many more demon beasts but at the same time he longed for a home back in his original world.

As such, he one day returned at the age of thirty and used his power to form Dark Star, a planet where he and his demon beasts could live. Everyone believe he had been born on this planet and that he had been secretly conspiring against the citizens of Dark Star, but this was far from the truth. He had been its creator and this was when he used his magic to form the very first Kirby, a dark blue sphere known as Metaknight.

Spencer couldn't believe what he had just heard as Dark Matter proceeded to explain how more and more Kirbies followed and how Metaknight was to be their leader, Dark Matter saying, "You were all to grow up on Dark Star so that one day you would be good enough to go to other planets and serve me."

"Wait, back up!" Spencer remarked, "You expect me to believe that you were the one who created us!?" Dark Matter nodding before replying, "Yes. Your parents and every other Kirby at that time were created by my hands. You were supposed to be evil like the other demon beasts!"

"Then why aren't we?" the Sword Kirby remarked as Dark Matter sighed, "I don't know. Something went wrong with you and all of you grew up with free will, the will to think like them, like those humans who made me suffer all those years! When I discovered this, I decided I couldn't possibly conquer another planet before ridding your kind from my world, so I sent my demon beasts across the land to take care of you. Unfortunately, not only was this when the Star Soldiers were formed but powerful warriors from other planets came to aid you, and just like you, they knew nothing of how you were created. All that mattered to them was that another planet was in danger."

Metaknight was among the first of the star soldiers, but like Dark Matter himself, it took him a while to discover most of his abilities and demonic powers. As such, it was at least five years until he was world renowned. Of course, during this time, Nightmare was so confident his demon beasts could take care of themselves now that he decided to move to the planet next to where he formed Dark Star, a world shaped just like a giant star, Popstar.

Needless to say, he caused all kinds of havoc and suffering there, and as the citizens of that very planet weren't quite as powerful as the Kirbies and star soldiers, many soldiers were sent to Popstar to protect it, Metaknight being assigned to Pupupuland, the location that was in the most danger.

It was around this time that Dark Matter was given the name Nightmare as many felt he and his power could darken any day no matter how bright it was. The demon was naturally offended by this and thought the name nowhere near intimidating enough but thought little of it, not letting it distract him from what he figured was truly important.

Dark Matter finished explaining the rest, how when he was said to have been destroyed he simply fled to the Mirror World and was trapped there, Spencer staring in absolute shock as Dark sighed, "You can choose not to believe me if you wish, but it is true."

"Well, it seems some good did come out of your reign of terror," Spencer remarked with a smirk, Dark Matter blinking as the Kirby explained, "You gave us a lot of power to oppose you with! If you hadn't created us, your plan to take over the galaxy probably would have been fulfilled a lot sooner!" the demon nodding his head and replying, "As painful as it is to admit, you are actually right about that. But come on, you honestly think you can hold me and my minions off any longer? Some day it's going to happen and those unwilling to cooperate with me will suffer the same fate as those who stayed on Popstar."

Spencer fumed, his sword trembling as he asked, "If you were trapped in this world, how did you gain access to ours?" Dark Matter replying, "I was wondering when you'd ask. See those elemental Kirbies behind you? See, the portal to the mirror world after being shattered had been transferred to a crystal in a shrine just a little ways from Oro Town, the kingdom Iron Mom and her army rule. I discovered the key to freeing me from the crystal was for someone to bless the crystal with wind, fire, ice and lightning in that exact order, so I used my power to create a demon beast that could travel outside of the mirror world through a vortex, one by the name of Wiz."

"You mean our ex-entertainer?" Spencer remarked, Dark Matter nodding and replying, "I would have made more of him if making something that powerful didn't cost so much dark matter, though now it seems your fair Princess Fumu has made him into a good guy..." Spencer asking, "She knew about that?" Dark Matter sighing, "Yeah, it was a waste of magic, but he did get one major job done and that was sending a message to a village run by elemental Kirbies to light the crystal. He picked out the four strongest Kirbies, in other words the ones most likely to actually make it to the shrine. As for how he convinced, because I know you're going to ask, he simply told them it was to rid of world of demon beasts."

"WHAT!?" came four familiar voices, Spencer and Dark Matter turning to see all four elemental Kirbies awake, Houka fuming and barking, "YOU MEAN YOU USED US FOR EVIL!?" blowing a flame toward him only for it to bounce off of the energy making its bubble and burning the Fire Kirby a bit, his eyes swirling.

"Oh, my, how much of that did you hear?" Dark Matter asked, Tatsumaki remarking, "We heard most of that story," turning to Spencer and adding, "Kid, we don't know you, but we've heard of this guy. I don't think you can take him by yourself," Spencer groaning, "I was afraid of that..." Purazuma trembling and sniffing, "Are we going to die?" Koori equally worried.

"No one here will die," Dark Matter replied, the others staring as the demon added, "just as long as you swear your loyalty to me. I will see to it that you will be given power and status beyond your wildest dreams as long as you help me become the ruler of the universe!"

"As if!" Houka retorted, "We may be trapped here, but that doesn't mean we're gonna serve you!" Purazuma doing her best to look strong while saying, "Yeah, we can't let you do that," Koori nodding and adding, "That's right, we're not evil like you intended us to be!"

Spencer nodded and said, "That's right... I may not be able to stop you, but my friends will show up soon and when they do you'll be sorry!" Dark Matter sighing, "Spencer, join me and fulfil your purpose! You have surpassed the powers I gave you and for that I see you becoming a very valuable addition to my army!" Spencer shouting, "NO!" before rushing toward the demon.


	29. Chapter 29

While all of this was going on, everyone back in New Pupupuland was worried. Fortunately, the mirror was still trapped in place but would they always be able to keep it pinned down? Either way, it had not done them much good yet as they had spent the last couple of hours trying to figure out how to open the vortex.

An hour and a half prior, Iron Mom had sent a letter to someone who she believed could help with the situation, Memu and Parm more and desperate enough to take any help they could get. After all, they were naturally worried about the group, but most of all they were worried about Fumu. After Bun's death, the last thing they wanted was to lose another child.

"Say, Miss Iron..." Memu said with a hint of worry, "do you know when our help should arrive?" Iron smiling under her armour and replying, "Don't worry, if I know them they should be here within the next couple of minutes," Parm asking, "If you don't mind me asking, who are these saviours of ours?" the queen of Oro Town replying, "Well, you might not agree with the idea of turning to them, but trust me, they are very reliable allies."

At that very moment, the ground started to shake as everyone's eyes went wide save for Iron Mom and her followers who knew that was simply the sound of their backup arriving. At that exact moment, a huge metal ant with a green abdomen came up from under the ground, clawing its way through the soil before crawling out as Memu and Parm stared in shock, the Poppy Brothers waving excitedly, Jukiddo slapping his forehead.

"Who is that?" Parm asked, scratching his head as Memu pinched her forehead groaning, "Oh heavens no..." the ant opening up to reveal a small white mouse with a pair of glasses with swirls on the lenses and a green moustache, two others coming from the abdomen.

One was a slender yellowish-brown mouse with black pointy shades over his eyes. He also had a red nose and sported a cape of the same colour. The third member of this team was a big plump mouse with blue fur, an orange sleeveless shirt that barely covered his top half, a bandana atop his head of the same colour, an eye patch over the one eye people could possibly be able to see and a fairly big outward belly button.

"Oh, good heavens!" Parm whined, his eyes spinning as he held onto his head, starting to have a migraine, "Not the Squeak Squad!"

"We are proud to serve the king and queen of such a fine land," stated the yellowish-brown mouse with a toothy smile, one of his teeth shimmering in the sunlight before the mouse spun standing on the tip of his toes, stopping his spinning before striking a pose and adding, "They call me Spin!"

"And with my mechanical expertise," said the white mouse, pulling out a wrench and spinning it around before holding it by his side and holding his other hand out in a cool fashion, adding, "I am the super genius Doc!"

"I am tough!" shouted the big blue one, throwing a punch out at the air before barking, "I am heavy!" stamping his foot hard against the ground like a sumo wrestler before flexing his muscles and announcing, "I am Stron!"

With that, all three formed a pyramid with Stron on the bottom, Spin in the middle and Doc on top exclaiming, "We are the Squeak Squad!" Strong shouting, "Squad!" one second after the others, Doc sighing, "Darn, we almost had it right this time."

Memu glared at Iron Mom who laughed nervously, the queen sighing, "Why would you bring these scoundrels here to help us?" Iron shrugging and replying, "Look, they may have been hardened criminals in the past, but now that they're old leader's gone they've been redeeming themselves and they can be quite resourceful if you give them a chance."

Memu had all the reason to be sceptical toward this particular trio. Back in the day, the Squeak Squad was led by an evil grey mouse with a red magician's cape and had named Dorocche. He was a very powerful mage who mostly used magic stars and bombs as his form of attack. He one day took in three particular mice who were poor and simply needed to make a living, the evil being taking full advantage of their predicament.

With their combined efforts, the four robbed from banks, orphans and even people of high power. It seemed as if no one was able to stop them until one day when they were confronted by two star soldiers known as Blade Knight and Sword Knight.

Naturally, Spin, Stron and Doc wanted to help as best as they could but with only two opponents, Dorocche got cocky and figured he could take them himself. At first it seemed he could as he hit the two hard with a barrage of stars. However, when he unleashed his bomb to finish them off, he soon realized the knights had been playing possum as they not only avoided the bomb but also struck down the mage in one combined slash, each one going at a downward angle on the side opposite the other thus forming a cut shaped like an X on Dorocche's chest.

With the evil magician unconscious, Dorocche was taken into custody, locked up in a special prison with a magical field around it that cancelled out the magic of anyone who entered its boarders. The other three served a bit of time but as they had willingly returned all of the money they had stolen unlike Dorocche who commanded them not to hand it over they were eventually let go for good behaviour and from that point on, the three of them dedicated their lives to helping people instead of harming them.

"Why should we rely on these three?" Memu asked with a sigh, "They're not exactly the most intelligent mice around," Doc glaring before remarking, "Excuse me, Miss, but I'll have you know that I should have this case cracked wide open in seconds. After all, I am a genius!"

Memu smirked and remarked, "Alright, Mister Genius, say something intelligent," Doc folding his arms, positioning his glasses and replying, "E equals MC squared," Parm clapping his hands in admiration with a big open-mouth smile on his face, Memu sighing, "Big deal, everybody who's read a text book on Science knows that," Doc grimacing before remarking, "Ask me any big question and I'll have the answer!"

Memu shrugged and remarked, "What's the square root of 12?" Doc laughing before replying, "That's a trick question! There is no..." Memu cutting in and saying, "It's 3.4641016151377544," a smug look on her face as Stron asked, "Is that true, boss?" Doc remarking, "Of course not, she made that up!" the queen and mouse glaring at one-another until Spin barked, "ALRIGHT, BREAK IT UP, YOU TWO, DID YOU HAVE A JOB FOR US OR NOT!?"

Memu sighed as Iron Mom replied, "Yes, you see, a group of people were taken into this mirror but the portal leading into it sealed afterwards. We need you to find us a way to get in. I ask you because you're good at breaking into places," Parm gulping, "That is true, isn't it?"

Spin grinned and asked, "Is that all? We should have this case cracked wide open by the time we're through."

Back in Dark Matter's world, Spencer was out cold as Dark Matter laughed and said, "I must admit, boy, you did put up a fairly decent fight, but it's as you predicted, you never stood a chance," the demon looming over the Kirby with dark energy surrounding his hands, Houka barking, "HEY, WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO WITH THE KID!?" the other three looking with concern.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm not going to kill him," Dark replied, "I'm simply going to make him more powerful."

All the while, Metaknight had ended up on a platform flying through space, the soldier looking around in confusion. This wasn't even close to where he wanted to go. To make matters worse, a maniacal laugh soon entered the air as the knight noticed a giant floating hand form before him. The knight didn't need to think twice to realize this hand was here to fight as he pulled out his sword, readying himself.

The others were still sitting in wait, Joe tapping his foot before getting up and barking, "I can't take it anymore!" the others staring as he spat, "You guys can keep sitting around, but I'm gonna take action!" pointing at a mirror in the middle of the room and adding, "That is the only mirror that we haven't tried yet! It might lead us to where we want to go!"

"But Joe, we have to wait..." Fumu protested as Flint got up saying, "No way, Joe's right. All I know is that Nightmare brought us here to keep us out of the way so when he escapes from this world, we can't stop him. If anything, we should at least try to get out of here if not find Nightmare ourselves and beat him up before he has a chance," Sirica getting up with a grin adding, "Here, here!" Joe grinning as Melanie shrugged and said, "Sorry, Fumu, but they have a point."

Fumu took a deep breath and got up saying, "Well, can't argue with four against one," the princess getting up and adding, "But if you're gonna go in there, you'd better count me in too!" the other four cheering.

But before the group was about to proceed forward, Fumu turned toward another mirror she hadn't seen before, the princess asking, "Hey, guys, was that here before?" the others turning as Flint replied, "That's funny, I looked over there three times and saw nothing," the others nodding.

"Maybe that's the right way," the princess enquired as the others thought it over, Sirica saying, "I guess it's worth a shot."

With that in mind, the five entered the other, Joe folding his arms and grumbling all the while. However, this mirror was not the one that took them where they wanted to go. What was really on the other side was even more shocking, everyone's eyes going wide.

During this time, Spin had sniffed the mirror while Doc ran a few tests on it, Stron standing in the back and feeling useless until Doc said, "Well, we have found the answer to your missing citizens problem," the others perking up as Parm asked, "What is it, old bean?" Doc pushing up his glasses and replying, "You need to open up the portal that was one on this mirror," everyone face-palming before retorting, "WE ALREADY KNOW THAT, YOU MORON!" even Iron Mom and her men annoyed by this, Memu sighing, "Do you at least know how to do that?"

"As a matter of fact, we do," Spin stated with a proud grin, "Stron, get over here," the big mouse looking up and walking over, clapping his hands and finally feeling like he was worth having around, Spin saying, "Hit it!"

With that, Stron rammed his fist hard into the mirror, however it seemed to have no effect as all went silent, Jukiddo asking, "What exactly was that supposed to accomplish?" Spin laughing nervously and replying, "Well, whenever Doc's machines go down, Stron giving them a good hit usually gets them up and running again," the others sighing and looking down.

"Oh, you three really are helpless without me," came a voice from nearby, the mice trembling as Spin said, "I recognized that dark, sinister voice anywhere," the others looking around as Parm asked, "It's not that Dorocche fellow, is it?" the magician's cape suddenly appearing in midair, soon folding out to reveal that very mouse attached to it, the mage saying, "Why, yes, it is me," Parm clapping and exclaiming, "Oh, did you see that, honey? I was right!" Memu sighing, "That's lovely, dear," patting her husband on the shoulder.

"OH NO!" the mouse trio spat, "PLEASE DON'T KILL US!" Dorocche holding out his hand and sighing, "Please, you're not worth it, and I'm not going to ask you to rejoin me either, if that's what you were thinking," Doc staring in shock before asking, "Well, what are you doing here, then? That is if you don't mind me asking."

The Waddles Dees and Doos all prepared themselves as did the Kirby soldiers, Melody raising her fists and stating, "If you're here to cause trouble, we won't hold back!" Michael nodding and replying, "That's right, you got us to deal with," Basil replying, "I want some cheese," the others staring at him with blank expressions before the fighter shrugged and replied, "The mice got me thinking about it," his partners slapping their palms against their faces.

"Don't worry," Dorocche replied with a sigh, "Unlike these dunderheads, I am well aware of what has happened. I do not know who awakened the power of this mirror, but I believe it leads to a world that the great Nightmare himself lives in," everyone gasping as Parm replied, "With all due respect, Nightmare is dead..."

"No, he isn't," Dorocche replied, shaking his head, "He's been alive for years, but he's been trapped in another dimension. Somehow he's found a way to reach ours through this mirror and if we don't take action fast, he'll enter our world and create more demon beasts to destroy our way of life."

"How do you know all of this?" Spin asked as Dorocche replied with a smirk, "I'm an all-powerful mage. I have to know these things," all going silent, even the mice not really seeing this as good reasoning as Iron Mom said, "So... you expect us to believe that you're here to help us, is that right?"

The mouse mage nodded and replied, "Now, don't get the wrong idea. I have not completely given up on a life of crime. I'd just rather do it alone from now on. With that said, though, I also have no desire to submit to Nightmare, so I am going to help you open up that portal. It should lead to his world and once we're there, we can take him down on his own turf, got it?"

"Wait, this is a lot to take in..." Sam replied, "So Nightmare didn't die all those years back and he's alive in another world?" Dorocche nodding and replying, "Precisely. I don't know all the details or how he was able to gain access to this world in the first place, but that is the gist of it. Now shut up and let me concentrate."

With that, the mouse focused hard, a dark aura surrounding him as he pressed his hands up against the mirror. However, nothing happened yet as Memu asked, "Well?" Spin shushing them and whispering, "Dorocche needs concentration."

During this time, Metaknight had been fighting with the giant hand for a while. The hand flew at him clenched into a fist as the knight dodged at the last second, swiping his blade downward and striking the hand, the hand fidgeting a bit. However, the attack still didn't seem to do much as the hand quickly turned toward Metaknight, folding its pointing finger against its thumb, preparing to flick the star soldier. Metaknight simply rolled backwards in time to avoid the attack, the hand then preparing to slap him only for the knight to hold his sword out.

However, this proved rather ineffective as while the sword did certainly stab the incoming hand, Metaknight still took in a hard enough to blow to be sent backward toward the edge of the platform. Before falling to his doom, though, the knight simply grabbed onto the edge only for the hand to fly over to him, pointing its palm downward and slapping down against the ground, the tips of his middle three fingers hitting Metaknight's hand until he winced and let go.

Luckily, the knight still had his demonic powers as he changed his cape into bat wings, flying up and taking a deep breath, the hand moving in a way that implied a shocked reaction, the soldier saying, "Bet you didn't expect this, now, did you?"

With that, Metaknight hurled himself at the hand, spinning like a drill with his sword out as the hand proceeded to form a drill-like shape by connecting his fingertips to one-another, flying at the knight while spinning. Despite Metaknight using a sword, he actually had a bit of trouble as the hand and his sword seemed to be evenly matched in power, but how was this possible? Then again, this was the same hand that completely ignored a stab to the palm a minute ago.

All the while, the other five in the Mirror World had entered a hall of some kind, the hall itself made entirely out of clouds. To make things even stranger, the hall was filled to the brim with energy bubbles, one pink copy of every type of Kirby in existence floating inside of each. There was a Needle Kirby, a Missile Kirby, a High Jump Kirby and a Wheel Kirby just to name a few.

"What is this place?" Melanie asked, Fumu looking around and noticing a Fighter Kirby saying, "Look at this," Flint staring and saying, "Well, I'll be."

Joe looked at the many other Kirbies and asked, "What's with this place?" Sirica replying, "They look so... real..."

"I think they are real," Melanie replied, the others staring as Flint asked, "Are you sure they're not just ornaments?" Melanie sighing, "No, they look more than real enough. Maybe they're some of Nightmare's prisoners, other Kirbies who came here..."

"Then why is there only one of each type?" Joe asked, "Furthermore, why are they pink? I've never seen a pink Kirby before in my life."

There was a good reason for this. Of all the colours for Kirbies in the world, pink was the only one that had never been seen before. Sure, there were green ones, blue ones, red ones, burgundy ones and even a rare rainbow-coloured Kirby or two, but never before had a pink one ever existed. Perhaps Dark Matter planned to create them but scrapped the idea after seeing how his other Kirbies had turned out, or maybe they were models that he used to help remember what the Kirbies were supposed to look like.

Either way, this room didn't seem to lead them anyway, however, something caught Fumu's interest as she noticed a brilliant golden sword with a magical flame surrounding its blade. The girl stared with her eyes wide open, Flint asking, "Hey, what are you...?" noticing it himself before staring in amazement, the others also looking at it, Sirica saying, "I think we should take that. It might be useful," the others nodding as Fumu walked over, trying to pick it up only for a shock to go through her as she backed up, saying, "Doesn't seem like we can."

Flint approached the princess with concern and asked, "You okay?" Fumu nodding and replying, "It only stung a little bit," Flint holding her hand, bending down on one foot and kissing her hand, Joe rolling her eyes as Melanie giggled at the sight of Flint trying to be chivalrous.

Either way, there was no other reason to stay in the room, thus the group exited. After all, they were strong enough without some magic sword to aid them.

However, when they exited the room, something was wrong. The mirror room had changed. Now the white fluffy clouds were black and actually felt like a stone ground. Most of the mirrors had also vanished too with only one left, the one in the middle. To make matters worse, someone was exiting that very mirror, and it was no one the five knew.

This being was a purplish-pink sphere-shaped knight with a mask and shoulder pads similar to those belonging to Metaknight. The only different with the mask was that the slits for the eyes resembled half-moons and two spike-shaped slits were formed in the middle one going up and the other going down. However, rather than having hands that resembled mittens, these ones looked more like gloves as they actually contained five fingers, something no Kirby had ever been seen with. Also, rather than using a sword like Metaknight, this soldier had a shield in one hand and a jousting lance in the other. Atop his mask were two small dragon horns and on his back were angel wings.

The others didn't like the look of this as Joe stood his ground asking, "Who are you?" the soldier not saying a word as Sirica stated, "I don't think this guy's here to help us," Melanie pulling out her hammer and saying, "It's five against one, we can take him," Flint nodding and saying, "Normally I'd tell you to stay back, Fumu, but hey, you're a mage," Fumu grinning and saying, "Good, I want to help out as much as I can."

With that, all five were ready as the mysterious knight before them prepared himself. Whoever this guy was, he had to have been tough but there was no way the others would lose. They had come too far.

During this time, Metaknight continued his fight with the hand, spinning around and forming a twister around himself before ramming hard into it, jabbing his sword right through it. This caused some actual pain to the hand as the knight grinned, taking his sword out and slicing the hand down the middle.

However, the hand wasn't going to stand for this as it wrapped itself around the knight, tightening its grip thus causing the knight's body to crunch a bit. However, its grip soon loosened when Metaknight pried its fingers off with his sword, delivering a swift kick to it and flying away, the hand shaking angrily and forming a gun-shape, firing energy bullets toward the soldier.

Metaknight dodged them with ease before summoning a twister with his blade, the twister soon covering the hand. But just as it seemed the knight had won, he soon felt a fierce blow to his back, flipping forward a bit before regaining focus and turning around, his eyes going wide when he saw another hand had appeared. But where had this one come from?

Before he could contemplate this further, both hands took full advantage of this, clapping together and crushing the knight between them. Before Metaknight could even respond, one of the hands loomed overheard, wiggling its fingers and dropping bombs down upon the knight while the other walked with its pointing finger and middle finger toward the knight, kicking him across the ground.

However, the knight wasn't going to let this get to him as he slowly rose to his feet only for one hand to open up its palm in front of him, the knight staring in confusion only for the other hand to form a fist, ramming hard into the knight and forcing him hard against the other hand's open palm.

As the hand that had punched the soldier backed up, Metaknight was now unconscious as he blacked out, falling to the ground. He was too weak right now for his dragon form to take over. Sure, the knight hated the idea of having such a terrible form, but right now he needed a miracle. Unfortunately, that never came as his body was soon consumed by darkness, vanishing from the area. Where he had gone was anyone's guess.

During this time, Dorocche had finally broken the seal as a vortex formed in the mirror, the mage saying, "Perfect," the three mice applauding him as Flip said, "I knew he was good, but not this good," Doc replying, "I never doubted him for a second."

However, Dorocche frowned and said, "There is a slight problem with this picture..." Memu asking, "What is it?" the magician sighing, "Only one of us can enter."

"Who should go then?" Stron asked as Dorocche sighed, "Oh, Stron, you're just as dense as ever. Of course it's going to be me," a proud grin on his face as Jukiddo remarked, "Oh no, if anyone should be going, it should be my ruler, Iron Mom," Iron chuckling, "Oh, Jukiddo, you're too kind, but I think Dorocche's a fine choice!"

"At least one of you is able to recognize my superiority over all of you," the mouse boasted as a vein formed on Iron's head, the woman retorting, "THAT IS NOT WHAT I MEANT!" Dorocche holding his hand up to his ear asking, "Is that jealousy I detect?" the Poppy Brothers remarking, "YOU TAKE THAT BACK!"

"Hey, what about me!?" Melody remarked, Michael saying, "I'm the best of the five of us, I should have a say in this!" Jason remarking, "NO, I'M FASTER, THAT MAKES ME THE BEST!" Sam sighing, "You're acting like children," Basil drooling as he was still thinking about cheese, Parm and Memu planting their palms against their faces. This was getting them nowhere.

While the group argued, something happened to the portal. All went silent as the group turned and noticed it vanish, Dorocche's eye twitching as he turned to the others, steam coming from his nostrils as the other three mice trembled in fear, everyone else staring in confusion.

"YOU IDIOTS!" the magician spat, "IF YOU'D JUST ADMITTED I WAS THE BEST PICK, I COULD HAVE GONE IN THERE!" Parm replying, "Couldn't you just create another portal, Mr. Dorocche sir?" the mouse rubbing his temple and sighing, "Unfortunately, no... that portal was designed to open up once and that was it. Now all we can do is hope those trapped in there are good enough not to need our help."

Hearing this, Memu and Parm looked at each other with worry in their expressions, holding each other's hands for reassurance. The Squeak Squad gulped nervously while the Fighter Kirbies looked down in shame, Michael especially feeling bad. It wasn't like him to argue over who in the team was better. Either way, Dorocche was right. This was all up to Spencer and the others now and currently, things weren't looking good for any of them.


	30. Chapter 30

The mysterious warrior flew Flint with the help of his angel wings as Flint leapt to the side, Fumu attempting to strike the being with a lightning bolt only for him to easily dodge to the side, Joe aiming a kick toward his back. The knight simply flew over it, Joe losing balance and sliding across the ground on his back, Sirica firing a missile at his back only for the warrior to turn and slice it in half with his lance, both halves flying away from him and making small explosions when hitting the ground.

Melanie spun like a tornado with her hammer outward toward the knight only for him to turn and block the incoming hammer with his shield, forcing it back and flying passed Melanie, putting a small cut on her shoulder as he winced, tumbling back and growling, holding onto her wound.

"That bastard!" Joe cursed, fuming, "He's toying with us!" Flint grimacing and stating, "Well, if he's not gonna take us seriously, then it's his own fault if we end up beating him!" the knight not even feeling the least bit fazed by this as Melanie ignored the pain to her shoulder, readying her hammer.

Sirica used the flamethrower setting on her weapon, firing at the knight from behind only for him to fly to the right and dodge the flames, Sirica's eyes going wide as they ended up hitting Melanie instead, the soldier uttering, "Sorry about that, Melanie..." the knight then flying at Sirica and ramming his shield hard into her head, sending him tumbling along the ground.

Joe took full advantage of the knight's focus on Sirica by sending a series of Vulcan Jabs at him only for the knight to block them with his shield, flying at him and pointing his lance out, striking the fighter's ribcage, Joe trying his best not to show signs of pain while a bit of blood flew out of the wound.

Fumu all the while had prepared an onslaught of ice shards as she sent them toward the knight only for him to swing his lance in various directions at rapid speed, shattering all of them. The knight then charged toward the princess only for Flint to shout, "I DON'T THINK SO, PAL!" aiming a two-legged kick toward him only for the knight to turn around, pointing his lance out as the Fighter Kirby ended up kicking that with his right foot instead, the lance piercing his flesh as he cried out in pain, falling back while blood poured out, Fumu screaming, "FLINT!"

With that, the warrior turned toward the princess again, charging at her again. With the others still recovering from the hits they had taken in, no one was there to protect the girl as she conjured up a fireball at the last minute, the fire circling her as the knight proceeded to pierced her shoulder, the girl crying out in pain while her fireball actually managed to graze the knight's back.

Feeling the burn, the knight leapt back and held up a defensive stance. Now he actually had a reason to worry about his health. But even so, it was just a light graze, so it still looked unlikely that the five heroes would survive this fight. Luckily, though, the knight also seemed distracted by this. As such, Joe and Melanie both recovered in time to take full advantage of this, Joe sending a Roundhouse to the warrior's back, the knight's eyes going wide as Melanie proceeded to spin at him again, this time sending her hammer hard into his back and sending tumbling forward.

Seeing this, Flint also got up and delivered a hard flying kick to the knight's side shouting, "THAT'S FOR HARMING FUMU!" said princess proceeding to send another bolt of lightning at the knight, this time hitting him as the electricity covered his body, the knight's eyes wide with shock.

Sirica recovered as well, firing a missile forward only this time she actually managed to hit him. As the knight recovered from the blow, he breathed heavily and realized he would now have to kick things up a notch. He simply couldn't let these five defeat him.

With that in mind, the knight held his lance back for a bit while power flowed through it, the knight sending it downward as a red and orange twister appeared before him, headed toward the others. That was a lot like Metaknight's twister. How could this knight use it as well? Either way, the others tried their best to avoid it only to end up being pulled into it, taking in all sorts of pain before it finally vanished.

However, the onslaught didn't end there as the knight held up his lance, lightning shooting out of it and hitting Joe hard, the fighter once again trying to ignore the pain while the knight proceeded to plant his lance into the ground, unleashing a shock wave, the others barely dodging in time. This knight was already a threat before, but now that he was taking the fighter seriously, he was far worse.

"What is up with this guy?" Flint asked, Joe remarking, "Nightmare made him. That's all that matters. Just focus on stopping him!"

However, the knight was even more alert than before, dodging each and every attack that came at him and not stopping for a second. Melanie charged at him only for the knight to dodge her hammer, slicing her across the gut as she groaned in pain. Flint all the while had his hands cupped together, forming his Hadouken while thinking, 'Alright, guys, distract him a little longer.'

Fumu tried sending everything she could only for the knight to dodge with ease, Sirica attempting to hit him with her sword only for the knight to lock blades using his lance. The other three rushed at him while he was focused on Sirica only for him to shove Sirica away from him with a shield to her face, turning around and sending an energy slash to the others.

"HADOUKEN!" Flint barked as the knight turned toward the fighter, his eyes going wide as he took in the fierce blow to the face, his mask cracking open down the middle before falling off. At that moment, the strangest thing happened as his skin suddenly turned yellow, his face becoming that of a regular Kirby and his hands becoming more like small stubs. His angel wings also vanished as atop his head, a green swordsman cap appeared, the others all staring in shock at the unconscious Kirby.

As it just so happened, the mysterious knight had actually been Spencer. When Nightmare knocked him out earlier, he had placed a cursed on the Sword Kirby forming him into a new evil star soldier. In other words, he had forced Spencer to fight his own friends while tricking his friends until fighting him. Either way, this was not the happiest reunion they could have had.

"Oh my god..." Melanie said, clasping her hands over her mouth, Flint staring in absolute shock, his body twitching as Joe gritted his teeth, grunting, "Damn that Nightmare..." Sirica adding, "Only he would stoop this low."

Fumu took a deep breath and said, "For all we know, something similar could have happened to Metaknight," Flint nodding and adding, "We shouldn't stand around thinking about this any longer. We need to go and stop Nightmare now before it's too late."

"But we can't just leave Spencer lying here all alone," Melanie remarked, Joe replying, "As much as I'd like to go and clean that monster's clock right now, she's right. If he's powerful enough to turn one of our friends evil, we might need all the help we can get."

With that, Melanie reached into her mouth and pulled out a satchel full of herbs, Sirica, Joe and Fumu staring awkwardly at this action while the Hammer Kirby dropped some of their juices into Spencer's mouth, pulling out a cloth and dabbing some more juices on it, rubbing his wounds. After all, Spencer's friends were the ones who had inflicted all that damage to him. As such, they felt like they had to take responsibility for this.

"Do you think it was right to fight him?" Fumu asked, "I mean, if we'd known ahead of time..." Flint nodding and replying, "That certainly would have made things harder, but we might have died. At least Spencer's still alive. Just imagine how bad this could have ended if we were too wimpy to fight back. We would have never broken the curse on him."

All the while, Metaknight woke up in a certain location as Dark Matter grinned, saying, "Good, you're finally awake," the knight's eyes going wide as he stared in shock, Dark chuckling and asking, "Surprised? I can't blame you. After all, you more than anyone else have all the reason to think I'm dead!"

Metaknight's jaw dropped, his mouth twitching as Dark added, "By the way, I think I like you better with the mask on. It makes you look intimidating," Metaknight shaking his head and barking, "How are you still alive!?"

Dark let out a sigh and replied, "I'd tell you, but I've already told the whole story to your student, so I don't feel like repeating it," the knight retorting, "What about Spencer!?" Dark laughing and replying, "Oh, you silly knight, I can do a lot of things that none of you can. I simply made him one of my many pawns."

"No!" Metaknight replied, trembling before sighing, "So I guess what my clone told me is true..." Dark replying, "Oh, so he told you that. Well, that saves me some time," Metaknight replying, "Well, he didn't tell me everything. He failed to mention how you brought us here," Purazuma crying as Metaknight faced her, suddenly noticing the four elemental Kirbies still in their energy bubbles, the Plasma Kirby sniffing, "He tricked us into giving him access to your world!"

Metaknight bowed his head and replied, "I'm sure you had a good reason for believing him," Houka replying, "Yeah, we were foolish, but if we could only bust out of here, we'd kick his ass!"

"Even you wouldn't be able to stop me," Dark remarked as Metaknight said, "It doesn't matter, because I'm going to end this!" pulling out his blade and activating his bat wings, Dark blinking and replying, "But why? You know your kind was made for evil, why not join me as my general in ruling the universe?"

The knight scowled and retorted, "I have spent my life fighting for good! I have experienced how beneficial it can be, how good it feels to help those in need and have real friends, not just followers who pretend to like and respect you! I wouldn't give that up for all the power in the world!" Dark Matter rolling his eyes and remarking, "That's such a shame. You really could have been great."

With that, the demon opened up his cloak to reveal no torso underneath it, just dark energy as he unleashing stars from it, raining them down upon the knight. Metaknight blocked any that came at him while avoiding others at all cost, the knight saying, "Don't forget, I've faced you before, I know your abilities!" the knight leaping at the demon and striking him hard across the face.

"You only saw a demonstration!" the demon retorted, grabbing the knight and blasting him with a star coming out of that very palm, sending him tumbling across the ground. He then proceeded to point his finger at the night, unleashing a dark lightning bolt, Metaknight's eyes going wide as he quickly rolled out of the way, breathing lightly and saying, "So far I'm not impressed."

With that, the knight flew at him and spin like a drill with his sword pointed forward, Dark Matter vanishing and reappearing behind the knight, Metaknight saying, "I didn't know you could teleport..." the demon holding up both of his hands in the form of a fist and cracking them down upon the knight's skull, sending him hard into the floor.

"I don't know if it's because you were just beaten by the hands a little while ago, but you seem off this time around," Dark Matter replied as Metaknight retorted, "SHUT UP!" making a quick recovery and delivering a slash upward, striking the demon king's chin as he grimaced, a bit of dark blood trickling from that very spot.

Metaknight didn't stop there as he proceeded to summon a twister, the hard wind headed toward Dark Matter as he grinned wickedly, teleporting out of harm's way before sending more dark bolts toward the knight. Metaknight did his best to dodge the incoming attack, trying his best to strike Dark Matter. Unfortunately, the demon was now on high alert as he blocked an incoming strike with two of his long fingernails, using his free hand to flick Metaknight away from him before blasting him with a lightning bolt.

The knight fell to the floor once again, trying his best to maintain focus as the elemental Kirbies stared at this, Tatsumaki biting her lip nervously. So far, Metaknight was the only one to put up a good struggle against Dark Matter, and like everyone else, all four elemental Kirbies knew of his fame and how he'd achieved it. If the knight couldn't win this battle, who could?

With this in mind, the knight tried his best to get back up only to receive another lightning bolt, breathing heavily as Dark laughed and said, "Come on, just give up! You can't possibly hope to win!" the demon then raining stars down upon him.

At this moment, Metaknight's anger started to build immensely, his eyes turning bright red only for the knight to shake his head, breathing heavily and saying, "No..." clutching onto the side of his head, Dark asking, "Why fight it? You'll need all the power you can get to beat me, and it's not like there's anyone else here you can hurt. Those magic bubbles surrounding the other four Kirbies are too strong for even the most powerful of attacks to shatter them," Metaknight gritting his teeth as they became fangs, the knight shaking his head and retorting, "Yeah right! They'll probably disappear if you die! I don't think so!"

"Fine, keep coming at me with the power you have right now," Dark Matter replied with a sigh, "It's been doing you a world of good so far, after all."

Metaknight's eyes went wide as he realized he really had little choice in the matter, the knight taking a deep breath as he said, "Fine, then I'll die trying to beat you as I am now," Dark shaking his head and replying, "Suit yourself."

Seeing this, the elemental Kirbies stared in absolute admiration, Koori saying, "He really is a true hero to the end," Houka adding, "Who would ever guess he was meant to be evil?" Purazuma whimpering, "I'm still having trouble taking that in..." Tatsumaki sighing, "Just be happy we didn't turn out that way."

Metaknight flew at Dark Matter again only for the demon to vanish and strike Metaknight from behind again asking, "Why do you insist on fighting me in this inferior form? Are you really that afraid of hurting four strangers?" the knight sighing, "It's not just that. There's another reason I don't want to use it," Dark replying, "What is that?"

Metaknight then pointed at the demon lord and remarked, "It's the fact that you want me to use it so badly! Obviously there's gotta be a reason why you'd demand me to become a form that could be strong enough to end your life!" Dark's eyes going wide, the demon gulping and pulling on his collar, looking away and whistling innocently, the knight's eye twitching as he said, "I'm right, aren't I?"

Sad as it was for Dark Matter to admit, Metaknight did have a really good point there. After all, the demon did seem rather hellbent on having the knight become his dragon form, but why? What reason could he possibly have?

However, before the knight could think more about this, he realized he had an opportunity. While Dark Matter was putting up his innocent act, the knight proceeded to spin at him with his sword out like a drill again, the man barely dodging in time to avoid having his head pierced. However, Metaknight still managed to get his cheek, a chunk of skin flying off as the demon's eyes went wide, the man placing his hand against the bleeding spot and biting his lip. He had spent years trying not to show signs of weakness again but this strike had hurt him beyond all compare.

However, there was no way the demon lord would let up. If he had to kill Metaknight to survive, so be it, but in his mind he wanted more than anything to force Metaknight's dragon form out of him. But one question still remained: why did he want this so badly? Wouldn't Metaknight taking on this form only endanger the demon further?

Metaknight kept up his assault, flying at Dark Matter who simply dodged, this time grabbing one of the knight's wings and flinging him hard into the ground before firing another bolt. Metaknight got up just in time to dodge it only to see a star coming at him, the Kirby holding up his sword and blocking it. Dark grimaced as Metaknight asked, "What's the matter? You're staring to slip," Dark gritting his teeth, all the while trying to make himself look calm but failing miserably. The truth was that cut Metaknight just dealt to him was getting the better of him as he was too enraged at himself for allowing it to happen to focus fully on the fight.

Metaknight took full advantage of this as he flew at the demon again, the demon lord teleporting to the side only for the knight to grin saying, "I knew you'd do that," swinging his sword sideways and unleashing a powerful Sword Beam, the beam going straight through Dark Matter as his eyes went wide, his jaw dropped.

"I can't believe it..." Metaknight uttered at the sight of this, the elemental Kirbies staring in horror as the blue Kirby added, "I... actually killed him..."

However, it seemed too late for him to say this as a dark energy surrounded the demon lord, Dark Matter looking rather confused by this as he exclaimed, "Wait, what's going on!?" the energy soon covering his entire body, the demon transforming into an orb with the colour of the night sky and stars decorating it.

Metaknight stared in confusion before saying, "I have no idea how you did that, but I'll take you down no matter what form you're in," ignoring the massive amount of energy he'd just used on that sword beam and flying at the orb.

However, the orb was surprisingly fast as it dodged with ease, shooting a few stars into the knight's side. Metaknight ignored this and flew at the orb, the orb once again dodging. However, the knight didn't seem nearly as alarmed as when he'd fought Dark Matter in his regular form. Sure, this orb was fast, but those stars he took in were incredibly weak, so weak in fact that it almost felt like he'd taken in no damage at all.

For the next minute, Metaknight flew at the orb, the orb dodging until the knight soon understood its movement and saw a certain pattern to it. The orb always moved to the right when it dodged no matter what the knight tried. With this in mind, Metaknight flew at the orb again, the orb once again dodging only for Metaknight to send his sword sideways, this time striking the orb and putting a crack on it.

"I see..." the knight said with a smirk, "So that's you're so fast..." the knight then striking the orb one more time thus causing it to shatter, Dark Matter's regular form coming out, the demon blinking and asking, "What just happened?" feeling his face and asking, "What happened to the gash caused by your Sword Beam?"

"Wait, you really don't know what just happened?" Metaknight asked, Dark nodding and replying, "Whatever it was, it seems to have saved me," the man smirking before adding, "This means I can't die! You were doomed from the start!"

Metaknight started to panic as he spat, "NO!" sending another sword beam only for Dark Matter to teleport away from it, fully focused on the fight now that he seemed to have no more reason to worry. After teleporting, he went behind Metaknight and sent a bolt straight into his back, knocking him down.

This was it. The knight had used up too much energy and taken in too much damage. He was going to die for sure. However, while Dark set up for one last bolt saying, "Kind of disappointing, really," he soon noticed a dark aura surrounding Metaknight, a grin on his face as he thought, 'Is the dragon finally going to show himself?'

It seemed he was right as Metaknight's eyes turned bright red, fangs forming in his mouth as his hands became that of a reptile with sharp claws. Soon, a long serpent body came from his back, his dragon form soon taking form as he let out a loud roar, the elemental Kirbies all staring in shock. Even Houka couldn't bottle up the terror going down his spine just from looking at this monstrosity before him.

"YES!" Dark Matter exclaimed, holding up his hand and releasing what looked like a rope made from dark energy from his palm, the rope binding itself to the dragon's neck as Dark opened up his cloak revealing the darkness underneath, a black hole opening up as he shouted, "COME TO ME, DRAGON, BECOME A PART OF ME!"

Metaknight roared angrily, shooting a huge burst of flames only for the fire to head straight into the hole, Dark shouting, "RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!" the dragon struggling to free himself but was far too weak to resist, the darkness soon pulling him in, the elemental Kirbies all staring in even more horror.

With that, Dark Matter's mask was soon replaced by a new one, namely a big grey one that looked more like a full head. Two long golden horns stuck out the side of it, two smaller horns over them and a very small one in the middle. A curved silver spike came from each of his shoulders as his body now looked like that of a black and purple demon. Even his face changed as it was no longer grey but red with yellow eyes and two fangs sticking out of his mouth.

The elemental Kirbies all trembled as Houka grunted, "Damn him..." Tatsumaki sighing, "He may have tricked us, but this is our fault for believing him," Purazuma trying her best not to cry as she knew it wouldn't do them any good."

Dark Matter looked at his new hands and flexed his muscles, which were bigger than ever before, the demon saying, "I can feel the power flowing through me! This is incredible!"

With that, he turned to the elemental Kirbies and smirked saying, "I feel like testing out my power on someone," Koori, Purazuma and Tatsumaki trembling while Houka tried his best to look tough, all four being released from their energy bubbles.

At this moment, Spencer finally awoke as he felt his head, wincing a bit before opening his eyes completely, the others smiling as Flint shouted, "DON'T EVER SCARE US LIKE THAT AGAIN!" Spencer blinking before exclaiming, "Guys! How did you get here?" looking around and asking, "Wait, where am I?"

"You're in the center of The Mirror World," Melanie replied, "It's where we are right now."

Flint nodded and replied, "Apparently, Nightmare brought us here."

"Yeah, he did," Spencer replied, slowly rising to his feet as the others stared at him, Fumu saying, "Right, you probably don't remember much of what went on here. Nightmare turned you into an evil knight and you attacked us."

"Wait, he did what!?" Spencer remarked, the boy grimacing as he said, "He's gone way too far," the Sword Kirby looking around and asking, "Where's Metaknight? If you guys made it out of your mirrors, he should have too," the others looking down as Joe replied, "Well, we're not sure what's going on with him, but he hasn't shown up yet."

Spencer then shook his head and said, "We can't wait. Guys, there's something you need to know! I was transported to Nightmare's home in this world! He told me everything about his plans and how we ended up here!" the others staring in shock as Spencer proceeded to tell them everything Dark Matter had told him.

After hearing the whole story, Joe said, "Dark Matter... that is a much more fitting name for someone like him..." Sirica adding, "I agree, much cooler-sounding than Nightmare," Spencer sighing, "That's not important."

"He's right," Fumu replied, "So all of this is out of spite. Spending your life being picked on can be rough, but taking it out on the universe is just too much," Flint nodding and replying, "Yeah, we need to stop him soon. If what I heard is correct, he'll eventually find a way to get into our world."

Melanie nodded and put on a serious look saying, "Well, now that all the light stuff is out of the way, what say we head on into Nightmare... I mean Dark Matter's home and show him a thing or two?" Spencer replying, "Careful. I fought him once and he's no pushover," Joe flexing his muscles with a smirk replying, "Yeah? Well, neither are we," the others nodding before heading toward the mirror, not knowing that their chances of victory had just dropped significantly.


	31. Chapter 31

This was it, the final confrontation with Dark Matter. The fate of the universe now hung in the balance. Could the six fighters pull it off?

As they entered the mirror, Spencer's eyes went wide when he saw Dark Matter. The demon turned to face the six and said, "So... you managed to undo my curse, did you?" Melanie remarking, "That's right! Nothing you throw at us will work! Just give up!"

Spencer, however, was staring silently at Dark Matter as the others turned to him, Sirica saying, "Come on, Spencer, snap out of it. You have us helping you," Spencer taking a deep breath and continued to fixate on Dark stating, "You look... different..."

Dark blinked before laughing in response to this, saying, "How perceptive of you," the others asking, "You mean he didn't look like this before?" Dark shaking his head and replying, "I'm more powerful now. Want to guess where I got this extra boost from?"

Before Spencer could even respond to this, he then noticed a certain quartet of elemental Kirbies lying on the ground unable to move. His eyes went wide as he breathed heavily, the others looking where he was as Melanie exclaimed, "OH MY GOD!" running over to them and pulling out her bag of herbs when Dark Matter laughed, "Don't bother! They're already dead!"

"You monster..." Flint uttered, glaring at the demon lord who simply folded his arms and said, "That's not even the half of it. Come on, guess where my new power came from," the others looking at one-another confused, Dark grinning wide and adding, "Here's a hint. It's someone you know."

"No, you don't mean..." Spencer said, his eyes wide as he backed up, trembling, Dark Matter breaking out into hysterics before shouting, "Oh, that reaction is priceless!" the others equally surprised. He didn't mean Metaknight, did he?

With that in mind, Joe let out a loud battle cry, sending a Smash Punch toward the demon who simply vanished and reappeared behind the boy, striking him in the back with his claws only for Melanie to leap behind him with her hammer out, spinning vertically at him. The demon simply turned and placed his hand up against her hammer thus stopping the attack and placed his hand against the green Kirby, unleashing a powerful burst of energy and sending her flying back a bit. Flint attempted a flying kick toward the demon's face only to be sent back when Dark unleashed a row of stars coming from the eyeball that was his new body, some red and some blue, the red ones powered by fire and the blue ones powered by ice. Fumu conjured up a bolt of lightning while Sirica readied her flamethrower only for Dark to vanish when the two unleashed their attacks, appearing behind them before sending dark lightning from his fingertips.

During all of this, though, Spencer didn't even move. His mentor wasn't really gone, but he was inside of the enemy. Even if the six did stand a chance, who was to say Metaknight would live if they killed Dark Matter? For all he knew, the soldier would likely die at the same time as his new host.

The other five were already struggling to recover from the damage they just took in as Dark laughed, "You are pathetic! I can't believe I was actually intimidated by you!" Flint turning to Spencer exclaiming, "A little help here!" Dark noticing Spencer's face as he said, "Well, well, look at that. One of you actually has a brain."

"What do you mean by that?" Fumu remarked, the demon replying, "It's simple, he understands my greatness and has acknowledged that fact that none of you can stop me," Joe gritting his teeth and barking, "Spencer's not like that! He doesn't give up no matter what the circumstances! Hell, that guy fought valiantly against a warrior who everyone thought couldn't be killed!"

"Wait, I know what's really going on..." Melanie replied, the others turning to her as the Hammer Kirby turned to Spencer, walked over to him and bonked him on the head with her hammer, the others staring in shock, but just as they were about to scold her for this rash action, Spencer rubbing his head groaning, "Ow, what was that for!?"

The Hammer sighed and remarked, "Spencer, I know it must be hard having to face your own master, but do you honestly believe Metaknight would want you to risk the lives of others just for his sake!?" the Sword Kirby staring as Joe whispered, "So that's what that was about," Sirica replying, "When you think about it, it was obvious in hindsight."

The yellow Kirby's body twitched as he slowly reached for his sword, drawing it while shaking and forcing a serious look, the boy uttering, "Y-y-you're r-r-r-right, M-M-Melanie!" Dark Matter laughing and exclaiming, "It doesn't matter whether he joins you guys or not! One more fighter won't make that much of a difference against me!"

Not only did this seem true, but Spencer still hadn't fully restored his fighting spirit. He was still scared of going up against his own master. The thought of potentially killing Metaknight was just too much to bare.

With that, Dark teleported next to Spencer, the Sword Kirby unable to respond in time before taking a fierce back-hand to the side, the others attempting to assist their friends only for Dark to fire stars, this time adding purple ones to the mix, these ones powered by electricity.

Flint, Fumu and Melanie were rather distracted trying to dodge the stars while Joe simply used a series of Vulcan Jabs to block them, Sirica taking full advantage of this and charging toward the demon lord with her sword setting at the ready. But just as she was about to make contact with the demon, her legs started to sputter as she tripped and fell on her face, groaning in pain as Joe stopped his attacks, looking at her with concern less than a second before taking in a purple star to the face, the boy tumbling back while the others stared in shock, Spencer trembling more.

"Nice legs," Dark said with a smirk, floating toward the girl only for Flint to shout, "I DON'T THINK SO!" leaping at the man only to be smacked back, the Fighter Kirby tumbling across the ground, Fumu letting loose an icy wind only for the demon lord to take in no damage from it, the man striking her with lightning before she could attempt something that would actually work on him. Melanie attempted to strike the demon as well only for the demon to stop it with his palm, this time wrapping his fingers around it until the head broke under his grip.

The Hammer Kirby's eyes went wide in terror, a light tear escaping her eye. She had poured her heart and soul into crafting this very hammer. It was the fruit of her labour and now it had been destroyed just like that.

Seeing this, Spencer gritted his teeth, fuming as energy flowed through him, the boy lifting up his sword and charging at Dark Matter who seemed far too distracted by his own pride to notice. Dark managed to grab the spellbound Melanie, slamming her hard into the floor only to receive a slash to his side, a bit of darkness seeping from him as he cried out in pain. Despite his new power, he was still mortal and this meant the six had a chance.

"What are you doing!?" Dark exclaimed, turning to face the yellow Kirby who took a deep breath and replied, "You were right, Dark Matter, I was afraid of harming my master, but if he saw me submit to you of all people, I think he'd be in even more pain," Dark's eye twitching before the demon shook his head, barking, "It doesn't matter anyway! You're too weak to stop me!"

"Alone, maybe," Flint stated with a smirk, rising to his feet and cupping his hands together, Fumu preparing a fireball while adding, "but with all of us helping him, he'll be more than a match for you."

Joe also got up, preparing his own energy ball in his hands and adding, "You might think us pathetic weaklings, but we've dealt with far worse than you over the past and pulled through," Sirica nodding and readying her rocket launcher, figuring that if her robotic legs didn't work she could still use long-ranged attacks, Melanie wiping a tear from her eye and picking up the stick to her hammer while adding, "You'll never take away our fighting spirit."

Dark Matter's eye twitched as he spat, "YOU'RE ALL HELPLESS TO STOP ME!" the man opening up his cloak and revealing the giant eyeball, releasing more stars only for Flint and Joe to send huge energy blasts forward while exclaiming, "HADOUKEN!" in unison, the energy cancelling out Dark's attacks and hitting him hard in the pupil of the giant eye, the demon wincing in pain. Sirica proceeded to add to the damage with a missile to the demon's face, the demon clutching onto it in pain and crying out in agony, Fumu sending a fireball to the eye as well. Melanie simply used her hammer handle as a staff, jabbing it into the eye as darkness flew out of it, Spencer filling up with energy before unleashing the Sword Beam, the streak of light going straight through Dark Matter, a big cut going down his mid-section as he was just about to split apart.

But just as the others were about to celebrate a possible victory, Dark Matter laughed as the orb from his fight with Metaknight formed around him, Spencer immediately seeing this as a bad thing before ramming his blade hard into the sphere thus forming cracks on it. The cracks soon spread, covering the entire sphere before it shattered once again, Dark's eyes wide with shock.

It seemed the orb only healed him with time, and since he had spent only a little more than a second in it, his wounds didn't have time to properly heal as his body split in half, darkness flying out of him into the air as the man cried out in agony, a tear escaping his eye as Spencer sighed, "You only brought this upon yourself."

"You're right..." Dark uttered with his last ounce of strength, "I was wrong... evil was never the right path..."

With that, his body soon vanished, the body replaced by pure darkness as his mask fell to the floor. The others smiled as the darkness floated into the air and cheered, Fumu hugging Flint while Sirica's legs regained power, both she and Joe holding hands and dancing before realizing what they were doing, their cheeks flushed pink as they turned away from each other, folding their arms with pride. Melanie let out a sigh of relief, but Spencer wasn't nearly as happy right now.

Seeing this, Melanie approached him and sighed, "Look, I know what you must be going through, but you did the right thing," Spencer nodding and replying, "I know..." looking down, but the moment ended almost as quickly as it had come when Fumu pointed up and said, "Guys, I don't think it's over yet," everyone looking up, their eyes wide with shock as the eyeball from Dark's chest had reformed, only now it was of gargantuan size and gazing down upon them.

"Damn, he's still alive..." Joe cursed, clenching his fists as Spencer replied, "No... Dark Matter's dead, I can assure you of that."

The others stared in confusion as the Sword Kirby gulped, "That eyeball is Metaknight..." the others looking up as a bright light formed in the eye's pupil, unleashing a huge beam toward the six as they barely dodged in time to avoid major damage.

"No..." Fumu uttered, trembling as Flint held her close, everyone else staring at this. They couldn't believe it. It seemed that after being trapped inside of the lord of all evil in the world, he was now stuck in dragon form and only thought about causing destruction and chaos. He was now living up to his originally intended purpose.

To make matters worse, everyone had put a lot of energy into the finishing blow that had killed Dark Matter, so they were in barely any condition to be fighting. Spencer trembled, tears rolling down his cheeks as the others weren't sure they could go through with this either. Before, they had technically been facing Dark Matter, so bringing harm to Metaknight under such circumstances seemed justified. Now that they knew their enemy was Metaknight alone, they weren't sure if they bring themselves to even attempt to fight him.

However, before they could contemplate this further, a portal suddenly opened up, Spencer's eyes going wide as he uttered, "Guys... I think that might be connected to our world..." the others panicking as the eye entered the vortex, the others soon following.

Outside of the mirror world, everyone living in the castle was still gathered around the mirror, Dorocche placing his hands against the mirror and sighing, "Like I told you, it's pointless," Parm forcing a smile and saying, "Now, now, if I know those kids, I'd know that they're probably still alright."

Suddenly, a giant mirror formed in the sky, everyone looking up at it and panicking when they saw the giant eyeball emerge. It wasn't long before the eye spotted them, firing a huge beam downward as most of them dodged. Unfortunately, not all of them got out of the way in time as Iron Mom's ninjas along with a few servant Cappies were caught in the fire, most of them badly wounded and a few of them dead.

At that moment, Spencer and the others emerged from the mirror, all of them falling hard against the ground below them save for Fumu who was immediately caught by her mother, Memu taking a deep breath and squeezing her exclaiming, "OH MY GOD, IT'S SO GOOD TO HAVE YOU, BACK, DARLING DEAREST!"

Melanie looked up and asked, "Mind telling us what that is?" Flint recovering and saying, "Guys, that's Metaknight," the others staring at him in shock as the eyeball prepared another beam, Fumu squirming out of her mother's grip and shouting, "EVERYONE, FOLLOW ME!" the others not even thinking twice about this as the princess led the group to a stone in the courtyard, shoving it to the side with a surprising amount of ease and revealing a tunnel, Dorocche smirking and saying, "Clever girl," everyone following as quickly as they could just moments before Metaknight sent a huge beam crashing down upon the castle thus causing it to collapse, mere rubble remaining.

At the end of the tunnel was a huge wide open space with a floor, ceiling and walls made purely from steel. For the time being, they would certainly be safe down here.

The king and queen took a deep breath as Iron Mom asked, "Can someone tell me what's going on?" Parm replying, "Yes, I would like to know that too. How is that thing supposed to be Metaknight?"

"It's kind of a long story," Spencer replied, Fumu getting up and saying, "Wait before you tell them, Spencer. We need to get everyone down here. Everyone else is probably locked up in their houses. That's not going to protect them from this threat."

"That's our girl, always thinking of everyone," Parm said with a bright smile as the others sighed, Dorocche asking, "Is he always this stupid?" Memu sighing, "My husband may be a little air-headed, but he's not stupid," Parm nodding before turning to his wife and remarking, "What do you mean I'm air-headed?"

Just as Fumu was about to head out, Memu took her wrist and said, "No, darling, we'll send someone else to get them," the princess biting her lip as Flint sighed, "I hate to say it, but this time I agree. That thing is clearly too powerful for even us to handle alone."

Melanie took a deep breath and got up saying, "I'll gather the villagers," the others staring as the Hammer Kirby added, "Look, my hammer has been destroyed," holding up the handle as those who weren't with her earlier gasped, Melanie stating, "I want to be useful in some way or another, and if this is the way to help out, so be it."

The Squeak Squad looked at her with admiration, the three looking at Dorocche who shrugged and replied, "I'm not your leader anymore, remember?" the three smiling bright before running over to Melanie, Spin saying, "Hold it, if you're gonna go out there, we're gonna help! My ninja speed should help gather the people up quickly," Stron adding, "My layers of muscle can protect them," Doc adding, "And we'll need a super genius to figure out a good strategy for doing this while avoiding detection."

Melanie blinked and replied, "I have no idea who you are, but thanks," the others watching them leave as Spencer took a deep breath saying, "I'll tell you guys everything once everyone is here. You all need to know what's going on."

With that, Melanie and the mice snuck through the kingdom, each one taking separate paths to cover more ground, all the while trying their best to avoid being seen by the destructive eyeball up above. Melanie managed to round up more than 15 families, leading them all to the secret entrance undetected.

Using his speed and stealth, Spin avoided detection while bringing many citizens to the exit, even bringing a few homeless people along for the ride. Things were a tad more difficult for Stron as he was big and slow and his footsteps actually caused quite a loud sound. Despite this, he still managed to avoid being seen by the eye just barely, the big mouse saving a good number of citizens. Doc, however, probably ended up doing the most as he'd come prepared with a portable UFO that grew in size at the push of a button. This allowed him to move around quickly and silently, and since it was tiny it didn't attract much attention. Using a cloaking device installed into it, he was able to turn the citizens invisible while leading them to the hideout.

All in all, the timing could not have been better as this was the moment Metaknight starts totalling their houses just for the heck of it. As everyone was finally gathered together, the citizens all looked at Spencer, the sword Kirby taking a deep breath and telling them everything. He told of how Nightmare was originally known as Drake and soon changed his name to Dark Matter. He told of all the events leading up to this and the demon's reason for being like he was. He also assured everyone that Dark Matter was dead.

"Well, that's jolly good news," Parm said with a smile, clapping his hands as Iron Mom asked, "So why is Metaknight in this demonic state?"

Spencer and the others all looked at each other and let out a sigh, Melanie replying, "While fighting Metaknight, Dark Matter absorbed him and made him a part of him," everyone staring in shock while Fumu added, "After Dark Matter was destroyed, Metaknight's spirit rose up into the air and formed the very thing that's destroying our kingdom right now. Dark Matter must have contaminated him and turned him evil."

"Just like he had originally intended," Spencer replied, the others staring as Melody asked, "Um... what do you mean by that?" the Sword Kirby sighing, "You're not going to believe this, but we the members of the Kirby race are, well, demon beasts."

All went silent as all the Kirbies in the kingdom stared in horror at what they had just heard. Even the others who had been with Spencer were surprised to hear this. Sure, Spencer had told them about Dark Matter and how he came into existence, but he didn't say anything about the Kirby race being created by him.

"Wait, what!?" Melanie retorted, Spencer sighing, "I know it's hard to believe, but 50 years ago when Drake snapped and became Dark Matter, he made this entire planet and everything that was born here. Think about it, we all originated on Dark Star."

"That... actually makes sense..." Flint replied, looking at him hands and taking deep breaths, asking, "Were we really made to serve evil?" Joe staring at him and the other fighters, all of them looking at each other, Basil putting on a serious look and saying, "Well, so what if we were intended for evil?" the others staring as Spencer smiled and nodded, saying, "You're exactly right, Basil. We may have been made for evil, but we came out wrong. By making us his most intelligent race, Dark Matter only made things harder for himself."

The others stared as the Sword Kirby added, "Come on, how many of you Kirbies in this room have ever felt the need to destroy something just for pure enjoyment?" all of the Kirbies looking at one-another as Dorocche smirked and said, "You are wise beyond your years, young one, but yes, you are right. You were made for evil but you all chose the path of good."

Fumu took a deep breath and smiled at Flint saying, "Yeah, I can't imagine old Flint here partaking in such acts," Flint replying, "That means a lot coming from you, Melody asking, "Okay, seriously, why is Basil the one with all the wisdom now?" Michael replying, "Who cares? He and Spencer are right. We have free will."

Joe nodded and said, "Ya know, I don't know about you guys, but sitting around waiting for everything to be destroyed isn't really my cup of tea," Sirica getting up and adding, "Yeah, let's go and stop that demon!"

"But... if we do that, Metaknight will die..." Memu said as all went silent, Dorocche sighing, "They're right. I may not actually be a good guy, but even I know how bad things could get if Metaknight dies. Sure, Dark Matter may be dead now, but who's to say that alone has rid the world of demon beasts? They're likely still alive and reproducing as we speak and Metaknight was the best to take them down from what I've heard."

Spencer bit his lip before replying, "Trust me, I didn't like the idea at first either. I'd have rather died than kill my own master," the others looking at him as the Sword Kirby added, "But then I remembered something important. Metaknight wouldn't want me to let him destroy the kingdom and everyone in it just so he could live. Metaknight was intended to be Dark Matter's general but he turned out the greatest hero of us all, and being a true hero, I know for a fact that he would rather die than see everyone close to him suffer."

During this, both Spencer and Melanie remembered the words Metaknight had spoken to them after he woke up from a week-long coma. 'Thank you so much for stopping me' rang in their heads followed by 'If anything bad happened to the kingdom on my account...'

"He would never be able to live with himself..." Spencer said, Melanie and the others staring as Spencer sighed, "If anything happened to the kingdom on his account, he'd likely commit suicide than live in a land destroyed by his own hands."

"He's right," Fumu replied, Michael stepping forward and saying, "Yeah, Metaknight may be our friend, but he'd want us to kill him right now. It may be hard to accept, but the only other option is to let our world followed by the rest of the universe be destroyed!" Melody nodding and replying, "I'm in," Basil saying, "How can I ever eat again if there's no world to provide me with food?" Sam rubbing his head and replying, "You know you don't need an excuse to do good," Jason replying, "I think he was being serious, and I am too when I say that demon's ass is grass!"

The other fighters in the kingdom all threw their fists forward, full of fighting spirit now while the Sword Kirbies also readied themselves. Iron Mom nodded as she said, "Poppies, send a message to the kingdom to come as soon as possible and help us out," Poppy Bro Junior giving an army salute while Senior said, "You can count on us, your highness," the two carefully making their way up and out of the tunnel, making sure not to be spotted before sprinting toward Oro Town, Senior saying, "Little bro, stay behind when we pass through Gluttonberg and round up as many allies as you can get. We might need their help too," the boy nodding and replying, "You know best, broski."

Meanwhile, the others turned as Dorocche said, "Well, if you guys are gonna fight Metaknight in this state, I may as well too. Again, I may not agree with your love and justice mentalities, but if this world is destroyed, I'll have no one to steal from and, heck, I'll be dead and I'm not ready to die just yet."

The other three mice sniffed, letting down tears as Spin whispered to Parm, "It's speeches like those that convinced us to follow him," Parm slapping her palm against her face, Fumu turning to her parents and saying, "Please let me help," Memu remarking, "But what if you meet the same fate your brother did?" Fumu sighing, "Then I'll have gone down doing the right thing," the parents looking at each other, Parm shaking her head and resting her hands on the princess' shoulder saying, "I can tell there's no convincing you to stay, so good luck out there," Parm throwing his fist forward and adding, "Give em the old one two for us, darling!" Fumu giving each of her parents a hug and a kiss on the cheek, Flint giving her a high five after she let go.

Spencer nodded with a smile and said, "Alright, everyone, let's go save the world!" the people all cheering before every fighter in the kingdom marched up toward the exit to the cave. Sure, this threat was tough but together, they were also strong. There was no way they would let themselves die without putting up a fight.


	32. Chapter 32

As the citizens came up through the tunnel, they were shocked to see that not only was almost every house totalled, but there were demon beasts here now. But where had they come from? Had they come from the forest after seeing the town in ruin?

The answer soon became clear when the large eyeball shot a small black beam down upon the ground causing a demon beast to appear in that exact spot. It seemed Metaknight had consumed a bit of Dark Matter's power, the power to create demon beasts. On the upside, none of these demons looked quite as powerful as what Dark Matter would normally create.

There were elephant heads known as Phan-Phans and large bats with their bodies covered in fire. There were also big dog heads with feet and fists on their floppy ears called Box Boxers and white boxes with razor sharp edges representing teeth, bows atop their heads and leaves for tails simply called Boxy. There were fairly-big metal creatures with stubby arms atop their heads and slits with a single blue eye in each one, this species known as Big Metalum. There were even Gao-Gaos among them and leading the pack was a sun and moon, each with hands and faces, the moon sporting a pair of feet.

"I'm Mr. Shine!" exclaimed the sun, the moon adding, "And I'm Mr. Bright!" the two giving each other high five before adding, "We make the ultimate team for we are dynamite!"

"It could be worse," Melanie said, blinking, "The demon beasts Dark Matter used to make were far more threatening than this," Flint nodding and replying, "True, but he's summoning these guys rather quickly. We gotta stop him fast."

"But how?" asked one of the Cappies, the others turning to him as he pointed up at the giant eyeball saying, "Demon Metaknight is all the way up there."

This was true. For the last while, Metaknight had been floating high above the town. How was anyone supposed to get up there?

However, everyone then turned to Spencer, the boy blinking and asking, "How am I supposed to get up there? I'm not a miracle worker!" Flint stating, "Yeah, but you had something earlier to get you up there. You still got it right?" Spencer's eyes going wide as he exclaimed, "Alright, guys, keep the demon beasts busy! I got something I need to do!"

Seeing this, Dorocche saw the boy run off, a few demon beasts trying to get in his way only to receive a quick slice to their front-sections, distracting them long enough for Spencer to get past them. Dorocche let out a sigh and said, "I don't see the point. I can stop that thing easily."

With that, Dorocche floated up into the air, Spin watching this and saying, "Oh yeah, I forgot he could do that," Doc asking, "But isn't that how he arrived here?" all going silent until a Knuckle Joe barked, "Who cares!? To arms, men!" everyone cheering and rushing toward the demon beast army before them.

Before Melanie could join the troops, Michael walked up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder, Melanie turning and blinking as the Fighter Kirby said, "Before you go, um... we've acknowledged that you're one of the best soldiers we've had in a while. Despite using a hammer as a form of combat, you've done quite a lot for us in times of need and while we were waiting for you to get back, your friends told us how you made it through one of those dangerous mirror worlds all by yourself," Melanie replying, "Well, it wasn't really that hard..." Michael then reaching into his mouth and pulling out what looked like a hammer covered in gift wrap, the fighter saying, "Happy really, really early birthday, Melanie... at least I think it's early."

The Hammer Kirby blinked and opened it up, seeing a large metal mallet with a silver cover and a solid gold on each end of the head. Melanie grinned and shouted, "THIS IS AWESOME!" the girl rushing off into battle as Michael joined her.

Flint was fighting off a pair of Box Boxers, matching blows with them. However, since it was two against one, the dog were overwhelming him, throwing their fists forward vigorously. However, just as it seemed Flint was going to lose, a blast of water shot straight into one of them, knocking it to the side as Fumu was seen holding her hand out, giving Flint thumbs up with a grin, Flint nodding with a smile, blocking an incoming punch from the other Box Boxer, shifting his body around and actually managing the fling the dog into a Gao-Gao, the two demons growling at one-another and proceeding to beat each other up. Even in the demon beast world, dogs and cats seemed to be enemies.

Melanie beat a Phan-Phan over the head with her mallet, its eyes swirling as she then focused all her might into the hammer, the weapon's head lightning on fire as she heard a Big Metalum rolling toward her from behind in the form of a boulder. With that, the female turned and smacked her hammer hard into it like a croquet mallet, sending it rolling backwards at a rather fast pace, the Metalum running into a Phan-Phan and knocking the elephant out cold.

Spin noticed a few soldiers pinned up against a wall with Gao-Gaos standing in front of them, raising their claws to deliver a killing blow when the ninja mouse leapt at one of them from behind and pulling out two blades, ramming one of them into the Gao-Gao's back as the other wasn't able to turn and face him in time before Spin dashed right past him, leaving an X-shaped cut in his chest. Strong, all the while, was using his might to prevent a Big Metalum from rolling forward, shoving the creature back before slamming his foot into the ground, causing the Big Metalum to lose focus and uncurl itself, Strong then proceeding to ram two fingers into its eye, the metal monster forcing it shut and backing off, soon stumbling and falling hard on its back. Doc was also doing an incredible job as now that he could make noise, he was using his robotic ant known as the Yadogaine. A few Boxies latched themselves to the legs, biting into them as Doc simply had the machine fling them off.

Michael, Melody, Sam, Jason and Basil were also doing their absolute best, plowing through all kinds of demon beasts with the best of their abilities. There was no way they were going to let their kingdom down.

Even Kawasaki, against Misa's wishes, was out there on the battle field using his special Frying Pan to knock a Gao-Gao's teeth out, the chef saying, "This pan is a blessing!" a Boxy sneaking up behind him when Misa jumped out along with the other chefs, beating it over the head with their own kitchen materials, one putting a cut in a creature with a butcher knife, Kawasaki turning and asking, "What are you doing here?" a Waddle Dee replying, "You think we're gonna let our top chef get killed!?" a Cappy replying, "We need you alive in case we have reason to hold a celebratory feast after all of this!" Kawasaki smiling bright before noticing Misa nod to him with a warm smile, Kawasaki putting on a serious look and giving them thumbs up, raising his frying pan and shouting, "FOR THE HUNGRY MOUTHS OF THE KINGDOM!" the other chefs all raising their own kitchen tools and cheering.

Joe and Sirica, during this time, were going head-to-head with Mr. Shine and Mr. Bright. The sun cupped his hands together shouting, "TRY THIS ON FOR SIZE!" sending them forward and unleashing a huge fireball toward Sirica, the soldier easily dodging only for one of her robotic legs to be grazed, the material starting to melt from the extreme heat.

All the while, Joe was having quite a bit of trouble as well as Mr. Bright rolled up and spun toward him like a buzz saw. He was also moving incredibly fast, so the fighter barely had any time to so much as dodge.

"For elite fighters, you guys sure are pathetic!" Mr. Bright exclaimed, jumping toward Sirica with the intend of using his own body heat to finish her off, Mr. Shine adding, "I know, they're not putting up much of a fight!" Joe turning toward Sirica with worry, the boy distracted just long enough for the moon to spin into him, putting a big cut in the middle of his torso as Joe fell on his back, groaning in pain.

Seeing this, Sirica fumed and spat, "WE ARE NOT PATHETIC!" aiming her missile launcher toward the moon and sending a rocket hard into his side, the moon freaking out as he was sent careening like a Frisbee into a wall piece from a destroyed house still standing upright.

Seeing this, Mr. Shine fumed, his flames burning brighter as he spat, "OH, YOU ARE SO DEAD!" going for Sirica only for Joe to send a well-aimed Roundhouse to his back, the sun rolling along the ground away from the woman, Joe running over to her and asking, "You okay?" Sirica noticing one of her legs missing and sighing, "I think I'm doomed not to have feet anymore."

She then smiled and looked Joe in the eyes saying, "Thanks," Iron Mom ramming her fist hard into the face of a Box Boxer, turning toward the two warriors and sighing, thinking, 'Don't be jealous, Mom... you promised yourself you'd get over it,' Jukiddo delivering a piledriver to a Gao-Gao.

All the while, Dorocche had floated up to Metaknight's level, the mouse pulling out a bomb and hurling it hard into his pupil shouting, "You think you're so high and mighty!? You're nothing but a coward hiding up here!"

The eye stared at the magician who simply teleported out of its viewpoint before appearing beside his line of view, the mage pulling out a want with a star engraved on it, letting loose a powerful beam into the demon. However, while Metaknight certainly showed signs of pain, he didn't seem too effected by this as he floated over the wizard, Dorocche attempting to teleport but was too late as the beam was unleashed, the mage's eyes going wide as he cried out in agony, falling hard against the ground like a comet.

Seeing this, the Squeak Squad came over to him as quickly as possible, Spin asking, "Are you okay?" Dorocche grunting, "I'm not your master anymore... you have no reason to worry about me..." the mouse's eyes rolling to the back of his head as he passed out, Doc leaping out of Yadogaine and pressing an ear up against the rodent's chest, sighing and shaking his head as the other two mice let down light tears, Stron sniffing, "He was bad but he was boss."

During this time, Spencer had been digging through the rubble of the castle when he noticed all of this going on. To make matters worse, the demon beasts were even starting to overwhelm the others. Iron Mom had her armour shattered when a Big Metalum rolled hard into her. Joe was struggling to carry Sirica to safety while the female soldier pretended she didn't need it. Melanie was being slammed against the ground by a Phan-Phan's trunk and Flint was busy with another Box Boxer, a Boxy trying its hardest to eat Fumu, the princess unable to focus long enough to cast any spells on it. Even Jukiddo was currently running from a Big Metalum, knowing he wasn't strong enough to lift it up.

As if that wasn't bad enough, after taking in damage for the first time since he became an eyeball, Metaknight had started summoning more demon beasts to add to the fire. Seeing this, Spencer bit his lip and thought, 'Come on, where are you?' digging around more rubble.

Just as things looked their worst, the Poppy Brothers arrived just in time with a whole army with them, everyone looking up, their eyes sparkling as Iron Mom's entire battalion of Waddle Dees, Jungle Bombs, Bounders and Doos came to their aid. The Jungle Bombs pulled explosives out of their mouths, hurling them at the demon beasts while the Bounders struck them hard with daggers. The Doos fired beams from their eyes while the Dees using all they had to add to the damage.

Along with this was Rocky and the entire Gluttonberg Army, the Suplex Kirby grinning before shouting, "HAVING A LITTLE WITHOUT ME AGAIN, JOE!?" Knuckle Joe grinning and saying, "Wouldn't be a true party without you!" Rocky then noticing Sirica and whistling, "You dog, I never knew you were like that," Joe's cheeks turning pink as he retorted, "THIS IS NOT WHAT YOU THINK!" Sirica sticking her tongue out at the Kirby.

Various different Kirbies came in to help, Missile Kirbies transformed into rockets and ramming themselves hard into some of the demons, causing explosions. All the while, various Stone Kirbies crushed a few of the Big Metalums while Cutter Kirbies unleashed blades from atop their caps, putting cuts into other demons. There were even Needle Kirbies among them, all of them firing spikes atop their helmets into the opposition. Even Rocky did the best he could as he grabbed a Gao-Gao by the ears and performed a 360 degree flip, slapping the creature hard into the ground.

Seeing this, Spencer sighed with relief, Flint and Melanie running over to his side seeing as things were finally looking up, Flint asking, "Need help?" Spencer replying, "But..." Melanie sighing, "Come on, we know what you're looking for and right now, we need someone to take care of that eyeball as soon as possible."

With that, Melanie started pounding her hammer against some of the debris, cracking it open while Flint using his might to lift it up, Spencer asking, "Are you sure Fumu's okay?" Flint grinning and replying, "She's tough. I know she can handle herself out there. What's important right now is saving the universe."

The Squeak Squad during this turned away from their dead former master, Stron beating his fist against his palm shouting, "Let's beat em, guys!" Spin replying, "That's the smartest thing you've ever said!" Doc replying, "Sadly enough, it actually is," Doc going back into his machine while the mice charged back into battle.

Metaknight glared at them before starting to unleash beams down again, soldiers doing their best to dodge them. During this time, Spencer and his friends continued to dig before finally finding what they were looking for, the Warp Star.

Spencer let out a deep breath and said, "Alright, now it can only support one of us..." Flint replying, "You use it."

The Sword Kirby's eyes went wide as Melanie nodded and replied, "You're the only one whose been trained by Metaknight himself. You are the only other Kirby who can use the legendary Sword Beam. If anyone can stop this, it's you!"

"But... I'd be fighting my master..." Spencer replied, Flint sighing, "You were the one who told us it was for the best. Don't tell me you're a hypocrite now," the Sword Kirby chuckling and replying, "Right, how silly of me."

With that in mind, the swordsman placed the star against the ground as it expanded in size, Spencer stepping onto it and taking a deep breath, saying, "Wish me luck, guys," Flint replying, "Come on, you don't need luck," Melanie nodding and giving her friend a confident grin, Spencer nodding and flying up toward the demon eye.

'I'm sorry, Metaknight...' Spencer thought while the others noticed him flying, all of them amazed to see this while the Kirby pulled out his sword thinking, 'I know this is what you want me to do, so I won't hold back.'

While the eye unleashed another beam, he ended up taken off-guard when Spencer rammed his sword hard into his pupil. However, much like the other blows to his pupil, this didn't quite do the job as the Sword Kirby pried it out, Metaknight turning his gaze toward him and charging up a beam. Whatever it was making this eye so strong, it was making things much harder than they needed to be.

Spencer dodged the incoming beam and took a deep breath saying, "Alright, this has gone on long enough," energy flowing through him as he dodged another beam, passing right by the eye and sending a slash across it, the eye closing before Metaknight glared, charging up another as more energy filled the Sword Kirby.

Seeing this, Spencer took a deep breath and said, "Master, I'm gonna make you proud," unleashing the sword beam and sending it straight through the giant eyeball, all going silent as even the demon beasts stopped fighting with the others to watch this. Was this truly it? Had the demonized Metaknight finally been stopped? And if so, would he return to normal like before or did this kill him?

Dark energy started to escape from the eye as it shrank a little in size, the darkness vanishing after escaping. However, after the eye became half its original size, the wound created by the sword beam vanished, panic filling up everyone, Spencer shaking his head in terror while the the eye covered himself in flames, ramming hard into Spencer and knocking him off of the Warp Star, sending a beam into the star and shattering it.

All went silent as Spencer careened toward the ground, Flint and Melanie charging toward him to break his fall only for a mysterious streak to race across the area, taking hold of Spencer and carefully setting him down. No one in the kingdom had any idea who this was, but seeing him caused the floating eyeball quite a bit of distress. This person who had saved Spencer was a ninja.

"Who are you?" Spencer groaned, regaining focus as the ninja replying, "My name is Yamikage," the ninja looking up and sighing, "I had heard of how that useless piece of candy the king was protecting was really a source of ultimate power, but now that it's gone, I know I'll never become invincible, but if there is one thing I absolutely have to do before I die, it's kill Metaknight!"

"Wait, what!?" Spencer spat, his eyes going wide as the ninja pulled out a blade adding, "If anything should end him, it should be me! I have wanted to kill him for years and even if it means defying my old master's orders and saving the world, I'll take that chance!"

Spencer simply stared in disbelief as the ninja sent a blade up toward the eye only for Metaknight to easily dodge it, sending a beam into the ninja's shoulder and bursting it open, causing his arm to fall off as Yamikage clutched the bleeding spot, grunting, "You bastard..."

Due to the eye's drop in size, his beam wasn't quite as powerful as it was before and had actually gotten quite small, but it was still powerful enough to kill someone. This was made very clear when Yamikage attempted to strike the eyeball with daggers only for him to dodge once again and send a beam straight through his heart, the ninja's eyes going wide as he fell hard on his back against the ground, Spencer frowning.

Former servant of Dark Matter or not, this was just another death out of many at the hand of the demon lord's dark power. The demon king was dead now. This should not have been happening, and Spencer was tired of it all. He wished more than anything right now that he could do something to stop this.

However, even the others were starting to lose hope, and why not? Their only means of getting high enough to hit the demonized Metaknight had been destroyed. What could they do?

"No..." Spencer grunted to himself, a light surrounding his body while the others resumed fighting the demon beasts, "I won't let this happen anymore! I have come too far for all of our hard work to be in vain! You will no longer terrorize us, Dark Matter, not even in death!"

At that moment, the mirror from earlier had finally regained all of its power, a vortex appearing in it. The sword from the room of prototype pink Kirbies was now brimming with power as it floated up from its pedestal and headed out of the hall of Kirbies and through a golden mirror that had replaced the one originally leading to Dark Matter's world.

At that moment, the sword shot from the mirror as many others stared, Fumu asking, "Isn't that...?" Flint replying, "Yeah, I think it is..." the sword shooting through a few demon beasts on its way thus ending their lives, the sword screeching to a halt in front of Spencer, the Sword Kirby staring in shock as Joe uttered, "No way..."

Spencer blinked and asked, "Are you saying you want me to wield you?" the sword staying there as Spencer backed up a bit, the sword floating forward and stopping when the Sword Kirby stopped. The swordsman nodded and said, "I don't fully understand this, but what other choice do I have?"

However, just as Spencer was about to take hold of it, Metaknight fired a beam toward him only for the sword to leap in front of the beam, taking in the force. The magic emanating from it was more than powerful enough to deflect the blow, the beam having no effect on it. This was it, this was the ultimate weapon. If anything was going to save the kingdom, it was this very sword.

With that, Spencer risked no more hesitation, the Kirby taking hold of the sword and saying, "Sorry again, master, but it's time to end this!" the eyeball actually trembling in fear for the first time, all of his confidence gone, Spencer blinking and saying, "And here I thought you were just an emotionless blob of matter."

The power from the sword caused Spencer to sprout a pair of pointed wings made entirely out of light from his back, the others staring in shock as Fumu said, "It's so beautiful..." Flint nodding and replying, "I don't know why a powerful relic would choose him as its master, but I'm not complaining..." Melanie shouting, "GO GET HIM, SPENCER!" Joe and Sirica raising their fists and exclaiming, "YEAH, KICK HIS ASS!" everyone else cheering wildly for him.

Spencer flew at the eyeball with determination, thinking, 'Alright, Spencer, you can do it... Metaknight would rather die than be known as the murderer of an entire universe...' taking a deep breath and thinking, 'I just wish it didn't have to be this way, but then again, life isn't fair.'

With that, he rammed his sword hard into the demon's eye, passing straight through it as more dark energy seeped out of his body, the wound vanishing quickly as the eye was even smaller now. The swordsman blinked and looked at his sword, smiling and exclaiming, "WHOA, MAN, ALL THAT FROM A REGULAR STRIKE!? MAN, THAT WAS AWESOME!" the eyeball shooting a beam at him as he quickly blocked it saying, "Right, focus on the matter at hand."

With Metaknight distracted, no more demon beasts could appear and with more than 500 soldiers fighting them, it was only a matter of time until they were finally dealt with. After that, everyone stared upward to watch Spencer fight for their lives. He was their last hope. If he couldn't win this battle, no one could.

Spencer proceeded to swoop toward the eyeball again, delivering another strike as more dark energy came from him. However, when he went in for a third strike, he ended up caught off guard as Metaknight sent a beam into his midsection just mere centimetres away from his heart, his back and tummy coming open as he started to falter, desperately trying to stay afloat while the eyeball prepared one last beam.

Everyone gasped at the sight of this, Fumu uttering, "Spencer... Spencer..." Flint nodding and adding, "Spencer! Spencer! Come on, guys!" everyone else joining in and chanting, "SPENCER! SPENCER! SPENCER! SPENCER!"

Hearing this, Spencer groaned and regained focus, uttering, "No... I can't die now... not yet..." the eyeball about to fire at him when suddenly, a ghostly figure appeared behind him, grabbed onto him and tilted him back so his beam ended up firing upward and away from Spencer and everyone else.

Seeing the spirit who had caused this, Spencer's eyes went wide as he asked, "Dark Matter?" everyone gasping as it was indeed Dark Matter, only since this was his spirit it was his original form, no so much the demon Metaknight had fought earlier but a regular human with grey skin and sharp claws. He wasn't even wearing his trademark shades. In fact, his eyes were quite handsome.

"This was the real me before I lost sight of what was right in the world," the spirit said, Spencer nodding and saying, "So I guess I should call you Drake," everyone staring in shock at the sight of this, the Sword Kirby asking, "But why?" the eyeball shifting his eye around nervously, the spirit replying, "You showed me the light, Spencer. You showed me that destruction and chaos was not the answer. I'm sorry my power is the very thing that made the hero of Dark Star turn evil, and I'm sorry the only solution to this problem is to kill him, but I'm going to do at least one thing right and aid in the death of the very monster that I created before my soul is forever trapped in the depths if Hell where I belong."

With that, power flowed through the sword, a flame spiralling around the blade as Drake nodded, saying, "Do it," Spencer closing his eyes and pursing his lips before throwing the blade downward in front of him, sending forth a powerful Sword Beam, one that was even stronger than the one he had used before. The beam passed straight through the eyeball, Drake's soul vanishing for good as darkness flowed from the eye. The wound attempted to close but the dark energy was being drawn toward where the beam had stopped, the matter vanishing for good when it arrived at its destination.

With that, Metaknight's body appeared briefly, the knight giving Spencer thumbs up and saying, "Thank you, Spencer..." before vanishing along with the rest of the darkness, Spencer letting down tears and slowly landing against the ground, setting down the sword as his wings vanished, Melanie putting a hand on Spencer's shoulder as the others smiled reassuringly at him, Spencer taking a deep breath and realizing it was for the best. He had just saved the kingdom and everyone he knew and loved. Thanks to him, there would be no more demon beasts in the world, no more evil.


	33. Chapter 33

Note: Again, I am so sorry for taking so long to finally finish this. I'm just amazed I managed to actually do this all things considered. Again, for those who stuck with it and actually checked enough times to notice I'd updated this, thank you, you guys are awesome, and don't be afraid to give me your final thoughts now that I've come to the final chapter. I'd like to know if you guys are still as invested in this as you were before.

With the demon beasts gone and Dark Matter dead, peace had finally returned. Strangely enough, Dark Star actually underwent a huge change. With the darkness removed from the world, the dark clouds always covering the planet were gone and for the first time, Dark Star was finally experiencing pleasant, sunny days. Because of this, the name had been changed to New Popstar in honour of the original, which Dark Matter had destroyed many years ago.

Needless to say, the loss of Metaknight struck everyone really hard. For well over a week, everyone was rather down about it, especially Spencer. After all, the soldier was his idol. The fact that it was his hands that had killed him was especially painful. But during it all, everyone had to remind themselves that they had done the right thing. They knew there was no way to break the curse over him and that right now, he was probably smiling down at them from heaven.

During this time, every demon beast remaining on the planet had been vanquished therefor the star soldiers were soon disbanded, all of them moving on to better, safer lives. That wasn't to say the soldiers in the kingdom had exactly given up their paths. Sure, they tried other things on the side, but there were still fighting tournaments, jousts and all kinds of things like that to look forward to. And while evil may not have existed, there were still criminals in the world, so it wasn't as if there was no need for armies to exist.

After the first week since the event, everyone had calmed down and Flint and Fumu could finally enjoy their first date. It was quite an enjoyable evening with the two doing many things together. They walked to everything so that they could enjoy the trip. They attended a play being performed that day, Flint not being a fan of plays but enduring it for Fumu's sake. The two also went out for dinner, and while Flint did feel a tad guilty about this, the princess agreed to pay for everything what with her having the money to afford it.

At the end of it all, the two returned to the castle as Fumu said, "That was wonderful, Flint, thank you so much," Flint replying, "Well, I just suggested the activities. You were the one paying for everything," Fumu chuckling and picking the Fighter Kirby up, pressing her lips up against his, Flint closing his eyes and placing his hands against her shoulders.

All the while, Melanie was busy using her hammer and a nail to form a statue of Spencer with said swordsman observing from the sidelines, the girl turning to him and asking, "How's this?" Spencer looking up briefly and saying, "It's fine..." his cheeks pink as the Hammer Kirby sighed, "What's wrong? Are you still obsessing over that?"

"No," Spencer replied, shaking his head, "It's just, well... I think people might be giving me a little too much praise..." Melanie rolling her eyes and replying, "You saved the universe. That's worthy of at least one statue."

And it really was a big deal. All throughout the galaxy, Spencer's name was known far and wide. After all, being the swordsman who singlehandedly destroyed the biggest threat to all existence was no small feat. The only planet that wasn't aware of this was Earth, but then again, humans didn't even know of the existence of aliens yet and most were afraid of even coming to their planet in fear of being experimented on or shot.

"But I killed..." Spencer said as Melanie ran over and placed her hand over his mouth remarking, "No, none of that! You swore you had gotten over it! Remember, his spirit thanked you for doing it!" Spencer nodding as the Hammer Kirby removed her hand, Spencer sighing, "Thanks..." before looking over the statue and smiling before saying, "Not bad, but the hat needs to be pointier," Melanie grinning and saying, "That can be done."

At that moment, Fumu and Flint entered to see the work in progress for themselves, Fumu saying, "Wow, Melanie, you weren't kidding when you said you didn't need help," Flint rubbing his chin and saying, "There's a nose hair missing," Melanie rolling her eyes and replying, "Nice try, but we don't have noses."

All the while, Joe was training on a practice dummy when Sirica entered, the girl now with a new pair of robot legs courtesy of Doc who had made them for her before leaving the kingdom along with his comrades. These ones were a lot more advanced and worked a lot better. The sides were silver but down the front and back were dark blue stripes. She rather liked it.

"Hey," Joe said, still focused on the punching bag as Sirica said, "I didn't say this before, but thanks for carrying me out of danger," Joe replying, "Hey, we're allies, right?"

The female nodded and smirked saying, "You and I make a pretty good team, don't we? I'm not so sure I would have taken care of those sun and moon guys so easily without your help... granted, I would have done it anyway, just not that quickly," Joe smirking and replying, "I would have too, but the help is appreciated," Sirica then sighing, "Hey, wanna hang out?"

Joe blinked and asked, "Hang out?" the female soldier nodding and replying, "It's not like we're needed all that much anymore, so why not spend some time together as friends?" the fighter shrugging and replying, "I don't see why not. I heard there's an exhibition match taking place in the arena later today," Sirica grinning and replying, "That sounds awesome! Who's fighting?" Joe replying, "I think it's Sir Kibble and Gim," Sirica sighing, "So one-sided. Gim will easily win that one," Joe remarking, "But his weapon's a freaking Yo-Yo! Sir Kibble's a shoe-in!" Sirica retorting, "Wanna bet on that?" Joe replying, "You're on! Loser buys the winner lunch!"

After the statue was completed, Melanie walked with Spencer through the Whispy Woods now that everyone was allowed to enter, Melanie sighing, "I know Metaknight was too old for me, but it still bugs me that he's gone," Spencer smirking and replying, "Now who's obsessing over him?" the Hammer Kirby laughing in a mocking tone before Spencer patted her on the shoulder saying, "You'll find your soul mate some day."

Melanie then looked into Spencer's eyes, her eyes shimmering as the Sword Kirby remarked, "No! You're not my type!" the Hammer Kirby retorting, "WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN!?" before laughing and saying, "Yeah, I don't know what I was thinking. You're too much of a goody-goody for me," Spencer narrowing his eyelids.

After the two returned to town, Melanie noticed Melody and Michael walking around and sighing, "Look at them. Ever since Melody got her priorities straight, those two can't seem to stay away from each other," Spencer nodding and replying, "Yeah, all of this conflict may have been terrible and hard to overcome, but at least some good came out of it."

Suddenly, the two were stopped by a familiar hedgehog and mole, Melanie's eyes going wide as she squealed, "DESSIE, HALEY!" Spencer asking, "You know these two," the three hugging each other as Melanie exclaimed, "I never thought I'd see you two again!"

"Hey, you can't get rid of badasses like us," Haley replied with a grin as Dessie nodded and replied, "With Drake no longer in power, we've now learned that we don't need someone leading the mirror world."

"Oh, those are your friends from that village you were talking about," Spencer stated as Melanie nodded and asked, "How did you two get here?" Dessie replying, "Well, after Drake was destroyed, more mirrors leading to more worlds started to appear. One of them led straight to you guys."

"Okay, you gotta show me where it is," Melanie replied, "I'd love to come by and visit you guys some time," Haley replying, "Yeah, maybe you can join us in our daily sparring matches, then you might be able to decide each day's activity, granted you're tough enough to take us both on," Melanie replying, "I'd like that."

Spencer nodded and said, "Yeah, maybe there's also one that leads to that world Fumu went to. I'd love to meet this Chilly person she's been talking about," Haley replying, "You mean the mayor of the Arctic World? I'd rather not go there myself. I refuse to have snow vandalizing my bristles."

Melanie and Dessie laughed as Spencer blinked saying, "I can see why you three get along so well," Dessie asking, "Is that Flint?" Melanie shaking her head and replying, "No, this is Spencer," Haley remarking, "Yeah, does that look like a Fighter Kirby to you?" Dessie remarking, "As if YOU know what a Fighter Kirby dresses like!"

"Pleasure to meet you both," Spencer replied, holding out his hands as Haley replied, "No need to be so formal. It's boring," Spencer chuckling and saying, "Hey, I heard you guys are excellent fighters. Maybe you should come here two months from now and join the fighting tournament," the duo staring with their eyes sparkling, the two grinning at one-another and nodding with big smiles on their faces.

At that moment, a certain rabbit princess and her fighting robot guardian had arrived, Mega Titan's armour looking better than ever as Bonny skipped merrily along saying, "I can't wait to see Flint again," Titan replying, "I hope he likes this gift basket of carrot cookies we brought," holding up said basket.

The two asked around for the castle, many rather intimidated by Titan until Bonny assured them he was simply her guardian. Sure, no one there knew Bonny either, but she seemed harmless enough. While walking along, a bandit was running by with stolen goods only to run into Bonny, the rabbit girl crying as Mega Titan lifted the bandit up by the head, punching him hard in the face and sending him flying into a crate of vegetables.

"If you ever hurt her royal highness again, I'll do more than just hurt you!" the robot barked, Bonny sniffing, "No, it's okay, he didn't mean to..." but was cut off when a royal guard ran over to the bandit, handcuffing him and saying, "Thanks, Mister Robot, sir," taking a bag of money saying, "Stealing from old ladies... do you have no shame?" the bandit chuckling nervously as Titan said, "He's a criminal... does that make my rash behaviour okay?" Bonny patting one of his hands and replying, "This time, yes."

With that, the guard asked, "Would you like a reward for this capture? We've been trying to catch this guy for a while," Bonny shaking her head and handing over a bag of gold replying, "No, but give this to the poor old lady. She's likely been through a lot right now," the guard nodding as Titan implied smiling, stating, "The princess' generosity knows no bounds."

Hearing this, everyone gasped before bowing, the guard asking, "You're a princess!?" Bonny saying, "No need to be so formal, but yes, I am Princess Bonny of Carrot Castle."

"Carrot Castle?" everyone asked, Titan replying, "It's located in the Mirror World," everyone nodding, figuring these two must have been the friends one of the six heroes had spoken of.

After that, the two approached the castle, Titan posing like a gentleman and knocking gently against the door, Bonny smiling and nodding her head in approval of his approach when Memu and Parm answered. The two quickly introduced themselves as the king and queen gladly let them in, Parm calling Fumu and Flint to the area right away.

The two came downstairs as they had been in Fumu's room for the last little while, Flint's eyes going wide as he exclaimed, "Bonny, Mega Titan!" running over and embracing Bonny, Titan bowing his head to Fumu and replying, "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Princess Fumu of New Pupupuland," Fumu chuckling and saying, "So well-refined for a fighting unit," Titan's face steaming, his face turning red.

"We brought you a gift basket," he said, holding it out as Flint looked at the cookies asking, "Let me guess, there's carrots in them?" Bonny nodding and replying, "Only the freshest," Flint shrugging and munching one down, Fumu replying, "Flint's said a lot about you guys. You're free to stay and visit for as long as you like."

Bonny stared at her and smiled, saying, "Oh my goodness, you're so pretty," turning to Flint and replying, "You're a lucky man," Flint replying, "Thanks, I know," grinning as Spencer, Melanie, Dessie and Haley arrived at the entrance to the castle.

It wasn't long until everyone was introduced. However, just as they were about to head off and give their guests a tour, the sound of an engine and someone making an engine mouth noise entered the area.

"My word, what is that?" Parm asked, Memu asking, "Are we under attack?" looking outside as a certain green plane was flying around, Aero noticing the door open and parking, saying, "Howdy, you must be the queen," bowing his head as the two blinked, Spencer asking, "Who are you?" rather creeped out by a plane moving so much like a mammal.

"Of course, I should introduce myself," the plane replied when Bonny poked her head out asking, "Is that you, Aero Star?" Aero smiling and exclaiming, "Hey there, Bonny, what's shakin!?" the others staring as Bonny explained, "Aero was one of our finest accomplishments, a robot with animal DNA inside of him. We thought we'd lost him forever when he was called away to join the army in Candy Constellation."

"Well, with all the major problems gone, I can finally take a vacation," Aero replied, "Say, guys, I came by to see my new best buddy, Metaknight. Where's he at?" all going silent as Aero kept his smile on, Spencer looking down as Aero's eyes went wide, the plane saying, "Oh... ouch..."

After a moment of awkward silence, Aero was told the whole story as he said, "Well, at least you did the right thing. I couldn't live with myself if I knew my best friend was evil," Spencer nodding and replying, "Yeah..." letting out a sigh as Melanie patted him on the shoulder, Spencer nodding and saying, "Right, I'm over it."

All the while, Joe and Sirica were headed toward the arena for the exhibition match when they noticed two rocks with faces enter the area, neither seeming to notice them as Granite said, "Come on, sis, we don't wanna miss this," Kimberlite sighing, "I'm walking as fast as I can, brother," Sirica saying, "Never seen those two around here before," Joe waving and exclaiming, "Hey, Granite, Kimberlite, it's me, Knuckle Joe!" Sirica staring at him as the two turned and smiled.

Joe walked over, shaking both their hands and saying, "So, what's it like being the rulers of your kingdom?" Granite replying, "It's not easy, but we're a lot more fair than that previous dictator of ours," Kimberlite nodding and saying, "It's so nice to see you," noticing Sirica and asking, "Is this your girlfriend?" Sirica and Joe retorting, "NO!" Granite laughing, "My sister's obsessed with romance," Kimberlite remarking, "Am not!"

After Sirica introduced herself followed by the stone siblings, all four decided to watch the fight together. Sir Kibble entered first. He was a knight with golden armour and a blade similar to the ones used by Cutter Kirbies atop his helmet only it was much sharper and slightly bigger.

Gim himself was a small android wearing a baseball cap on top of him and sporting red metal shoes. His body was made of solid gold as well, telescopic lenses were his eyes and there was also a hole between both of them that a hand attached to a robotic arm came out of.

The fight was a lot less one-sided than most thought it was as Kibble hurled his blade off of his head, the blade spinning at Gim who simply dodged with ease and whipping out his Yo-Yo, sending it hard into Kibble's face as the blade returned like a boomerang, striking the android's side. After four minutes of the two going at it, Gim shockingly defeated Kibble. Sure, the knight had superior strength, but Gim had higher speed and skill and this made him a force to be reckoned with.

Joe's jaw dropped, his eye twitching while the rock siblings were equally surprised, Sirica folding her arms with a smirk, saying, "For lunch, I think I want a big hamburger," Joe's face stuck in the same position for some time.

After that, the golem siblings explained how they had found a mirror to New Pupupuland, Joe saying, "Well, that's great. Now we can see each other all the time. We never did properly finish our fight," Granite replying, "Yeah. Maybe we can face each other again some day, only much more fair and under better circumstances," Joe nodding and replying, "Whenever you're ready, you're on!"

After a bit more talking, Aero decided to take off saying, "Well, it was great meeting you guys but I wanna check out the old Carrot Castle again. It's been months since I was last there," the plane taking off as the others waved, Spencer saying, "What a nice guy," Melanie replying, "Yeah, a bit of a weirdo, but nice," Bonny giggling, "He was always my favorite until Titan came along," Mega Titan's face turning red as he said, "Stop, you're making my head overheat," the others laughing in response to this.

With that, a few more months passed as everyone was soon a year older. At this point, Flint and Fumu were finally of legal marrying age. With their relationship standing strong and successful all those years, it was only natural the two took full advantage of this, Flint next in line to take over as king when Memu and Parm were deemed too old to rule the kingdom. The wedding was beautiful with lots of floral decorations, a bright newly-built church and everyone in the kingdom along with close friends from Gluttonberg, Oro Town and the Mirror World also attended, Chilly coming in a magic snow globe created by Wiz, the magician surprisingly invited to the event now that he wasn't evil anymore.

After the bouquet had been thrown, the guests were all socializing away from the wedding hall, some enjoying the free food, especially Basil who had to be restrained from eating the entire wedding cake. Fumu and Flint took their own pieces, smiling at one-another while looking deeply into each other's eyes, Memu and Parm walking over.

"So, where would you like to spend your honeymoon, Fumu, dear?" Memu asked, Parm pulling out a brochure and replying, "Now that we get sun here, I've heard the beaches of Mordu are especially nice this year," Flint's eyes sparkling as Fumu giggled, "Oh yeah, then I'd give Flint here a reason to see me in a bikini. Let's do it," Flint biting his lip, letting down tears before sniffing, "Did I ever tell you you're the greatest?"

Melanie and Spencer approached the two, Melanie patting Flint on the back and saying, "Congrats, man! I still can't believe it, Flint, future king of New Pupupuland!" Flint folding his arms remarking, "Well, I think I'm going to make a great king," Spencer chuckling, "Better keep a close eye on him, Princess," Flint folding his arms and sticking out his tongue, Fumu breaking out into hysterics.

All the while, Joe was in a corner eating a drumstick while making quick glances at Sirica, the girl digging into a steak as Kawasaki stood behind the counter where the food was being served with a big smile. Truth be told, he had made the entire wedding feast with minimal assistance from the others. Everyone wanted it to be perfect and knew he was the man for the job.

Iron Mom walked over to Joe, the woman wearing the same fancy get-up she had worn on their date, the woman saying, "Hey, Joe," Joe replying, "Hey, Iron, what's up?" the woman sighing, "I see the way you look at her."

Joe raised an eyebrow as Iron Mom added, "Don't play dumb with me. You know it's true. You two are meant for each other. Now go over there and confess."

Knuckle Joe was about to confess when Iron Mom pointed at Sirica with a stern look in her eyes, the boy sighing. The truth was she was right. During the time spent with Sirica, Joe had started to see her as more than a friend. Her fighting spirit was equal to his and the two liked so many of the same things. Another thing they had in common was that up until now, neither were interested in romance. If anything, Sirica was the perfect match for Joe.

With that, the boy walked over as Dessie and Haley turned away from the punch bowl and stared at him, the two chuckling. Sure, Haley was still not a fan of romance, but she had to admit that Joe and Sirica were cool in her eyes, so the idea of both of them getting together suited her just fine.

Joe then stopped in front of Sirica, his body trembling as Sirica looked at him and smiled, saying, "Hey, what's up?" Joe asking, "Um... would you like to go out sometime?" the warrior's eyes going wide as she stood there in pure silence before uttering, "You mean...?" Joe nodding and replying, "Yes..."

After a bit of silence, Sirica's cheeks flushed bright pink as the woman replied, "Okay, sure... I didn't know you felt that way..." the girl chuckling like a schoolgirl, Joe replying, "Don't do that. That doesn't suit you," Sirica nodding with a light smile on her face.

At that moment, Dessie and Haley turned to Melanie, the Hammer girl staring in terror before saying, "No... not now..."

The truth was that during the months, Haley had been constantly trying to set Melanie up with super tough guys knowing how much love meant to her, thinking this was for Melanie's sake. Dessie, being a romance nut, was completely supportive of the idea. The only downside was Haley only judged men off of their strength and appearance, so she didn't really look for personality. As such, pretty much all of her choices ended up either terrible, already with someone or not interested.

Spencer laughed and said, "If it means anything, Mel, I'll help you out," Melanie sighing, "Thanks..." before shooting him a glare and remarking, "Never call me that again," the Sword Kirby laughing nervously.

With that, all was good in New Pupupuland. The demon beasts were all gone, Flint and Fumu were to be the new king and queen and everyone could enjoy life to its fullest, most of them experiencing this for the first time.

One clear night, Spencer walked over to a grave, this particular grave being the one dedicated to Metaknight. The Sword Kirby let out a deep sigh, putting on a warm smile and sitting down saying, "Hey there. I've decided to stop worrying about my combat skills and find a new path. Is that okay with you?" the swordsman sitting in silence before nodding and replying, "I knew you'd approve," before getting up and saying, "Hope you're being showered in praise up in heaven. See you later," the Sword Kirby walking back to the castle, ready to head off to bed.


End file.
